| The best intranet
news services are the ones that don't get read. Confused?
Here Steve Nichols argues that good writing skills should
prevent rather than encourage people to click on the
"read more" link.
How do you measure the true effectiveness of an intranet
news service? The truth is that it may be more difficult
than you think. The fact that an article doesn't appear
to be read may be to your credit.
Confused? Let me explain. First and foremost, why are
people employed in a company? The answer is to perform
some function or other. It most certainly isn't to browse
an intranet all day.
So if we can make them use an intranet less we could
save our company money, right? Well, only if staff are
as informed as they need to be.
In reality, many intranet news services work on the
basis of information overload. Throw as much detail
as you can at the poor reader and let them sift it out.
The truth is that an intranet should be able to accommodate
all manner of browsers - from skimmers to full-blown
data miners.
As web usability guru Jakob Nielsen puts it, we should
be able to accommodate users looking for information
at both the macro and micro level.
That is, the structure should be such that we can cater
for those who want just an overview of the latest corporate
news and those who want chapter and verse. This is why
our news homepage design and content is so important.
The usual technique is to have a headline and a "one-liner"
or summary. If people want more they click on the story
and go to the full version.
Trouble is, how much thought is given to that one liner
and could a "four-liner" actually be more
useful? That is, if the summary text gives the reader
all the information they need to make sense of the story
there is then no need to click further - and they can
get on with their job.
The secret is to use good journalistic techniques,
making sure that the salient facts are there on the
front page. The headline is equally important and can
work together with the summary to give a bigger picture.
And we need to make sure that we use all the available
screen space to run our headline too. For example, if
you know you always have space for around 80 characters
make sure you use all of them.
The BBC is very good at its use of summaries on news.bbc.co.uk.
They are succinct, informative and let you know if you
wish to click further. Punny, vague headlines that leave
you wondering what the story is all about and summaries
that say "click hear to find out more about the
latest situation" are best alone.
In truth then, stories that receive fewer clicks may
still be being read, its just you have no way of knowing.
But if your web writing skills are really up to scratch
you can rest assured that the reader has retrieved all
the information they require from your homepage - and
are now quietly getting on with their job.
Intranet metrics are only part of the picture. If you
really want to know how people use your intranet watch
them and then ask them what they like and dislike about
it.
We used to call it a readership survey - and just because
we've swapped paper for screens doesn't mean they are
any less relevant.
© Steve Nichols 2005. Steve Nichols specialises
in online communications and has acted as consultant
and trainer for many blue-chip companies including Aviva,
AWG, Shell, Standard Life, HBOS, BNFL, AstraZeneca,
Diageo, Accenture and Australia New Zealand Bank. |
