WEB DESIGN AND MARKETING SOLUTIONS FOR BUSINESS WEBSITES phần 6 pot

Figure 8-8. When rendering PDFs destined for the Web, keep the file size small by using Acrobat’s preset compression settings. Avoid dark backgrounds: Keep in mind that many people download PDFs with the intention of printing them, and that they print as is, so an entire column of white text reversed on a field of black will require people to waste an inordinate amount of toner for a single sheet of paper. The more whitespace in the design, the better. This does not mean that every PDF destined for the Web should reinvent your brand’s look and feel, but designers should be cognizant of how people will employ the collateral. Keep text as text: Layout programs have the ability to convert text to outlines, meaning that the shapes of the letters are transformed into vector data that cannot be edited. (This avoids missing font issues with commercial printers.) Since the PDF format embeds fonts into the file, this is not necessary. Keeping the text as text not only keeps the file size down, it ensures that the words are selectable via Acrobat’s Select Text tool. Link the links: Acrobat allows designers to embed URL links right into the PDF, which can be a great way for readers to return to the main corporate site after reading the document, visit the featured customer’s website, or launch any website referenced in the content. INDEPENDENT VALIDATION 183 8 8393CH08.qxd 8/2/07 2:44 PM Page 183 Provide a link to the reader: You can never expect anyone to have Acrobat installed, let alone have the most current version. Always provide a link to Adobe’s Acrobat Reader, which is a free download. Interactive. Interactive is a loaded term because it means different things to different peo- ple. For some, it’s a fancy way of saying “Flash,” for others, it’s taken literally and the reader really does interact with the material. In terms of case studies, it could mean either, but is better defined as a nontraditional presentation of the success story—instead of long pages of prose, the content is wrapped in pieces of interactivity that the user can navigate, flipping between animated sequences, video content, testimonials, text, diagrams, and more. Interactive case studies work best when they are rich in content. Simply turning a story into a self-running animation sequence of moving text and clever clip art is not enough to warrant the required development resources. However, if the story is accompanied by ani- mated diagrams, video testimonials, and an internal menu to select between the different parts, then the piece becomes a much more viable medium because it demonstrates con- cepts not possible with plain text on a page. Most of the time, interactive case studies are delivered in the Flash platform. This has sev- eral pros and cons. Its benefits are easy to see: a huge amount of information can be housed in a relatively noncommittal download, and people can load and browse the con- tent almost as fast as regular HTML. The medium, even though it remains an industry standard, still has its accessibility road- blocks. Many of these are covered in Chapter 3, but to summarize, the key to better acces- sibility is providing text alternatives for multimedia content. For videos, provide closed captions. For narrations, provide a transcript. For Flash files in general, provide HTML alternatives in case users don’t have the proper plug-in installed. And no matter what, pro- vide a link to Adobe’s web page that allows users to download Flash Player for their browser. Case studies are incredibly valuable marketing content, and there’s no reason their message should be lost because the reader lacks the technology or physical ability to consume it. PowerPoint, Word, and other proprietary files. Some companies choose to distribute their customer stories (and sometimes press releases) in proprietary formats like Word and PowerPoint. By all means, avoid this practice. There are a dozen or more reasons why, but the only one that really matters is the fact that these are expensive, platform-dependent applications that a very large, quantifiable segment of your audience does not have access to. If it’s too much trouble to convert the content to HTML alternatives, at a minimum export PDF versions and host those instead. Story length Case studies, unlike press releases, do not have a soft word limit, and can be formulated different ways. The ultimate length depends on the customer being interviewed and how much they offer to the interviewee, plus the richness of the actual story. Never try to force 1,000 words of detail into a 200-word template, and never dilute the content by trying to WEB DESIGN AND MARKETING SOLUTIONS FOR BUSINESS WEBSITES 184 8393CH08.qxd 8/2/07 2:44 PM Page 184 stretch it across an arbitrary minimum word count. By letting your case studies unfold nat- urally, you’ll begin to sense how they can be deployed across the website as they fall into one of three categories: Long; story style: These case studies are written to be read over several cups of cof- fee. Their elaborate prose and rich detail are written in a story-like manner, and illustrate how the client solved all their problems using the vendor’s solutions; these studies include supporting information, customer quotes, summary bullet points, and more. Their word count could easily fall anywhere between 500 and 3,000 words. Medium; news style: These case studies mimic the brevity and fact-oriented approach of press releases, but have just enough embellishment to avoid that title. They tell the customer story, but are focused on customer testimonials and quan- tifiable evidence to support it. Typically, these fall well within 1,000 words. Short; summary style: This approach is used when there is just not much substance to the soup, and watering down the information with gratuitous embellishment clearly makes for a lesser product. These might be the hardest to write well, because it requires editorial restraint to produce an effective case study only a few hundred words in length. All of these mention word counts in the assumption the case study will be actually written. A different medium (e.g., Flash-based interactive) might use overall presentation time as a more effective measurement of content. Testimonials Testimonials are third-party validation in its purest form: quotes right from the customer. The quotes can be any length, from a few words to a multi-sentence narrative, and can arrive in several formats, including plain text, audio files, and video files. The hardest part of testimonials is the actual acquisition (covered earlier in the chapter); distributing them around the site is easy. Formats Customer quotes can be delivered in several different formats, depending on how the sub- ject is interviewed. Plain text is by far the most common—it’s simple to gather, simple to produce, and simple to add to a web page. It’s also by far the easiest to get approved because the writer and original speaker can collaborate on cleaning up the text to read more smoothly. Multimedia-based testimonials—namely audio and video recordings—are far more labor- intensive. Not only are they a chore to create, seeing as a second party actually has to operate a recording device, but they do not give the client the opportunity of editing their words beyond what can be accomplished in the post-production room. This also works against the business trying to use the testimonial—if the quote is inaccurate, mumbled, or poorly recorded, it may be lost; there is rarely a chance for a second take. INDEPENDENT VALIDATION 185 8 8393CH08.qxd 8/2/07 2:44 PM Page 185 However, if done correctly—and if done correctly on a consistent basis—the company ends up with a library of marquee media that can be promoted heavily across the corpo- rate site, like in Figure 8-9. Figure 8-9. When a company invests in multimedia testimonials, they can be promoted heavily across the corporate site. Delivery The most effective place for testimonials is in context to the subject. If a customer raves about the professionalism and timeliness of a certain service, get that quote right up on that page to support the rest of the marketing effort. If a case study contains a number of solid-gold customer passages, pick the best one and make use of it as an excerpt or pull- quote next to the main text. As flavorful additions to standard content, they cannot be beat—Figure 8-2 is a perfect example of a short, potent testimonial adding tremendous value to the primary content. WEB DESIGN AND MARKETING SOLUTIONS FOR BUSINESS WEBSITES 186 8393CH08.qxd 8/2/07 2:44 PM Page 186 It is reasonable to create a page dedicated to testimonials, but not common practice. In order for a testimonial to be effectively exhibited out of context, it needs to be long and detailed, and these are sometimes difficult to write without sounding contrived, as if the interview subject had been “coached.” It would be like trying to judge a cake after only tasting the frosting. Without the context of the cake itself, even the yummiest parts by themselves are not a replacement for the whole experience. When adding testimonials of any format to a page, make sure to attribute them thor- oughly. At a minimum, you should include the person’s name and their employer. If possi- ble, also include their title. Awards, recognition, and reviews While case studies and testimonials present a personal testament to the company, awards, recognition, and reviews are a more objective means of recognizing a company’s achieve- ments. For instance, placing a customer quote about a particular product on the product page tells prospects that at least one other person on the planet really liked the product, whether it’s good or not. But if the product wins an award, or receives strong reviews from trade publications, that tells prospects that the same offering has been recognized for being a good product after a thorough and objective series of comparison tests conducted by an independent entity. Both are valuable, but in different ways. None of this is new to the Web. For years, car commercials have referenced awards that cars have won (e.g., recognition by Consumer Reports, the JD Power and Associates Initial Quality series of awards, or some internal award that the company bestows upon itself after conducting its own series of consumer tests). It makes sense for those same bits of validation to be sprinkled all over the car manufacturer’s website. (In fact, some manufac- turers have a submenu item in their pages called “Awards” that list everything a particular vehicle has won.) The film industry is no different. A movie’s success is almost wholly dependent on reviews, and to a lesser extent, awards. As you might guess, these bits of validation are best used in context of the original subject. Sometimes it’s for an individual product or service, sometimes it’s for the company as a whole. For instance, in our example of the Inc. 500 award, many of the higher-ranking companies chose to show the logo on their homepage, as you can see in Figure 8-10. These pieces of third-party validation are important to talk about on corporate websites, and should be referenced as much as possible to build credibility and prestige. The public at large puts tremendous stock in the opinions of professional reviewers, whether it’s an award from a nonprofit like Consumer Reports or a self-serving industry award like CNET’s “Editor’s Choice.” INDEPENDENT VALIDATION 187 8 8393CH08.qxd 8/2/07 2:44 PM Page 187 Figure 8-10. Companies winning prestigious accolades can display them right on their homepage. This website uses the Inc. 500 logo as a way of telling the public about the distinction. Summary Third-party validation can add tremendous value to your company’s website. By reinforc- ing your marketing message with customer success stories, testimonials, press releases, and editorial distinctions, you help build your corporate brand value. You also instill confi- dence in prospects, helping them understand that you are not marketing in a vacuum, and that others in the world are using your products or services with enough success that they are willing to voluntarily share their positive experiences. WEB DESIGN AND MARKETING SOLUTIONS FOR BUSINESS WEBSITES 188 8393CH08.qxd 8/2/07 2:44 PM Page 188 9 THE CORPORATE BLOG 8393CH09.qxd 8/7/07 1:51 PM Page 191 For years, many modern businesses have recognized the value of communicating with their customers about events, news, policy updates, changes in leadership, and other sig- nificant happenings within their organization. In fact, some of that communication has been made mandatory by law—any publicly traded company, for instance, is required to provide quarterly financial information. Over the years, marketing and public relations departments have seen the tremendous benefits of maintaining an open line of communi- cation with the public. On a basic level, this transparency builds customer trust, which builds brand loyalty, which can be gasoline for the word-of-mouth marketing fire. Traditionally, a company’s stream of communication has flowed in one direction: from business to individual. Annual reports, financial statements, newsletters, mailing lists, and letters from the CEO are all positive, proactive steps in informing the public about the happenings inside the business, but they do not allow for reader feedback. All of these are controlled environments in which public relations can operate; the best a customer could do was respond with a letter or phone call to voice their opinion. The only forum where opinions could be voiced by the public were annual shareholder meetings, or indirectly through mainstream media. The World Wide Web has leveled just about every communication-related playing field. Web-based publishers can report news the second it happens, small media outlets can compete with large media outlets, independent blogs can compete with all media outlets, and any reader can instantly argue with anyone simply by posting a comment. The Internet community at large has become jaded to the barrage of paid opinions from pontificating columnists, vested political interests in the “unbiased” media, and news with thinly veiled corporate sponsorship. People seek authenticity. The fragmented Web makes it increasingly difficult to focus on any more than a few sources of information, and users are seeking sites with a laser-like focus on the topics they care about. The need for authenticity and topical focus has been the single greatest catalyst for the phenomenal growth of blogging. Coupled with the ability to publicly comment on the content, smart web users have found the perfect medium to satiate their content thirsts as well as stand on a virtual soapbox and sound off. Corporations who take advantage of blogging can also meet these simple reader needs. By offering a topically focused blog written by members of the company, they provide the audience with an unfiltered view into the thought process of the business while simulta- neously allowing people to comment on topics they care about. While promoting an open exchange of thoughts has its potential downfalls, the benefits of a well-operated company weblog cannot be ignored. The success of a business blog depends on several key factors: The content and goals of the site need to be well-planned, focused, and consistent. The implementation needs to be technically sound with a means for readers to provide public-facing feedback. The interaction between writer and reader needs to be encouraged, nurtured, and moderated. WEB DESIGN AND MARKETING SOLUTIONS FOR BUSINESS WEBSITES 192 8393CH09.qxd 8/7/07 1:51 PM Page 192 This chapter will cover all of these points, but for now, keep in mind that while blogging is the new cool thing all the kids are doing, trendy technology does not always align with an organization’s marketing, public relations, and sales goals, and should only be imple- mented if it provides legitimate value to the business. Your blogging mileage Like any communication technology, the massive marketing potential of blogs is crippled by their susceptibility to abuse by both publisher and reader. While any company could use the medium to their advantage, it must also be prepared to absorb the risks as well as reap the rewards. But before going into the hard-lined pros and cons, let’s explore why someone might start a corporate blog. Purpose of the business blog Arbitrarily launching a corporate blog is generally not a good idea. Any platform for inti- mate conversation between business entities and their interested public has to be carefully planned. For businesses, blogs are marketing vehicles. Even if the president of General Motors decided to write about pruning bonsai trees, his name would still be linked to his company, and one false or poorly worded comment could dramatically impact the public’s perceptions of the software giant—whether it was intended or not. A business blog has to have focus, goals, and purpose; it needs to exist for a set of tangi- ble, real-world reasons that can be quantified (or at least qualified) to justify its existence. The worst possible reason to start a business blog is “for the heck of it.” Readership and participation will be much stronger if the content is consistent and relevant. Tell the news One of the most intriguing and reader-snaring aspects of blogs is their near-realtime deliv- ery of news. Almost anything significant that happens in the world is blogged before being picked up by the media, and the public actively looks for that exclusive, first-on-the-scene information. Corporate blogs can easily be built for the same type of content. Large companies are always in the news. Some of them are constantly being blasted by the media (like Microsoft, for their never-ending string of lawsuits), while others become media darlings (like Apple, whose gadgets and secrecy are easy stories for reporters). Imagine a business blog that works in tandem with the traditional media, making small announcements, teasing at bigger ones, always one step ahead of the public because it has the inside track. The audience would be sitting on the edge of its seats, waiting for the next post. Here are a couple examples of the type of news that might appear. Product announcements. These are the big announcements that the public waits for. This type of content is best suited for companies that have a passionate user base— people who wait for these announcements so that they can scrutinize the product from every angle, possibly buy the product, and then give the rest of the world a recommenda- tion on whether to buy the product. THE CORPORATE BLOG 193 9 8393CH09.qxd 8/7/07 1:51 PM Page 193 Keep in mind that the size of the user base has nothing to do with the users’ level of inter- est . Few of the billions of people using computers wait breathlessly for the latest driver updates for their video cards, but almost all users of Six Apart’s Movable Type publishing platform are tuned in to the latest updates of the product. 1 (And the Six Apart team has its own series of blogs discussing these very updates.) Similarly, most car owners don’t care enough about their manufacturer of choice to pay much attention to any blogs on the car maker’s website, but there exists a small niche of dedicated auto aficionados whose pas- sion is following the automotive industry. It is this second group to whom a blog from a car maker should be focused. Corporate and industry news. When a company becomes entrenched in an industry, peo- ple look to it as the expert in its field. And not just from a product- or service-offering standpoint, but as training ground to educate a concentrated group of employees in the industry to create a focus point for talent. Consider golf. Millions of people enjoy the sport of golf—and a large percentage of them are fanatical about it—but the true talent of the industry, the people who obsess over the grams of a driver and the shape of a tee, often end up working for companies who pro- duce golf-related equipment. Businesses operating in the golf industry become breeding grounds for golf experts. Taking that one step further, it’s a natural leap of logic to transform that technical knowl- edge and passion for the sport into blogs, as Alpha Golf did with its website, shown in Figure 9-1. The blog not only discusses the company’s products and general company news, but the industry as a whole, from tours to individual players. Figure 9-1. Alpha Golf uses a blog to discuss its products and the industry as a whole. WEB DESIGN AND MARKETING SOLUTIONS FOR BUSINESS WEBSITES 194 1. www.movabletype.com 8393CH09.qxd 8/7/07 1:51 PM Page 194 [...]... entering some general access information for a host (see Figure 9-3) and pointing the domain’s DNS records to ghs.google.com This enables the business to use its established domain (e.g., blog.yourbusiness.com) rather than Google’s internal URL (yourbusiness.blogspot.com) 6 www.blogger.com 199 8393CH09.qxd 8/7/07 1:51 PM Page 200 WEB DESIGN AND MARKETING SOLUTIONS FOR BUSINESS WEBSITES Figure 9-3 Blogger... community management, and more faithful readers People want to know that they are on a site that respects them 16 Charlene Li, “Blogging: Bubble or Big Deal? When and How Businesses Should Use Blogs,” Forrester, November 5, 2004 (www.forrester.com/Research/Document/0,7211,35000,00.html) 215 8393CH09.qxd 8/7/07 1:51 PM Page 2 16 WEB DESIGN AND MARKETING SOLUTIONS FOR BUSINESS WEBSITES Comments and comment moderation... a custom design measured and tailored to blend with the rest of the corporate site 209 8393CH09.qxd 8/7/07 1:51 PM Page 210 WEB DESIGN AND MARKETING SOLUTIONS FOR BUSINESS WEBSITES Figure 9-8 This company maintains strong design consistency between the blog and the rest of the corporate site Blogging content Now that we have covered the technical, design, and architectural considerations for corporate... with friendly, engaging writing can be very appealing to the audience 197 8393CH09.qxd 8/7/07 1:51 PM Page 198 WEB DESIGN AND MARKETING SOLUTIONS FOR BUSINESS WEBSITES Blogging platforms Thanks to the consumer appeal and widespread adoption of blogs, there are many software and platform solutions for just about any situation These packages range from free to several hundreds of dollars, from DIY to fully... to get under the hood and tinker with both the functionality and presentation TypePad is the clear choice for companies who take their blogging seriously, and who want the raft of advanced features without the need for software installed on their own servers 201 8393CH09.qxd 8/7/07 1:51 PM Page 202 WEB DESIGN AND MARKETING SOLUTIONS FOR BUSINESS WEBSITES Locally installed platforms Every hosted blog... leader, posted two articles on Internet Explorer 7, standards, and forthcoming CSS compatibility.3 These posts aggregated nearly 60 0 comments each They heralded a pivotal moment in web design, as thousands of web designers began planning for future compatibility of their websites Without the expertise of Microsoft’s team and its willingness to share their information through a blog, industry professionals... well-designed and functional authoring environment for blogging 7 www.textpattern.com 203 8393CH09.qxd 8/7/07 1:51 PM Page 204 WEB DESIGN AND MARKETING SOLUTIONS FOR BUSINESS WEBSITES WordPress WordPress was launched in 2003 as a user-friendly and standards-compliant PHP/MySQL solution for building websites. 8 Unlike other CMSs, WordPress maintains a laser-like focus on being the best blogging solution available,... requirements, and scope Since the range of software and solutions is so great, every possible option cannot be covered, and high-end CMSs (like Vignette) and solutions that are too complex for the average design team to configure are avoided Hosted platforms For those who lack the ability, time, or resources to implement a customized blog environment on an internal system, there are a number of plug -and- play websites. .. 8393CH09.qxd 8/7/07 1:51 PM Page 212 WEB DESIGN AND MARKETING SOLUTIONS FOR BUSINESS WEBSITES An interesting individual (including the CEO) More often than not, corporate blogs are written and maintained by an individual This brings a different dynamic to the table than a group, because almost all of the advantages of a team effort are transformed into requirements for the singular author Instead of... Standards,” at http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2005/03/09/391 362 .aspx, and “Standards and CSS in IE,” at http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2005/07/29/445242.aspx 195 8393CH09.qxd 8/7/07 1:51 PM Page 1 96 WEB DESIGN AND MARKETING SOLUTIONS FOR BUSINESS WEBSITES Many company leaders are already widely known Blogs inflate their fame and draw attention to their company Bob Lutz, vice chairman of General Motors, . means for readers to provide public-facing feedback. The interaction between writer and reader needs to be encouraged, nurtured, and moderated. WEB DESIGN AND MARKETING SOLUTIONS FOR BUSINESS WEBSITES 192 8393CH09.qxd. year. WordPress.com also charges for other upgrades, such as expanded storage and full editing capability of the CSS. WEB DESIGN AND MARKETING SOLUTIONS FOR BUSINESS WEBSITES 200 8393CH09.qxd 8/7/07. frenzy of bad media. WEB DESIGN AND MARKETING SOLUTIONS FOR BUSINESS WEBSITES 1 96 4. http://fastlane.gmblogs.com 5. www.joelonsoftware.com 8393CH09.qxd 8/7/07 1:51 PM Page 1 96 Most of the risks