There seems to be a bit of buzz building about the release of Site Builder 3.
The Toolkit Web site is one of the sites testing Site Builder 3 and so far we've been happy with the results.
I've sat in on two Site Builder 3 training sessions - and an often-asked question is "Will there be a migration tool so we can just 'move' our site to Site Builder 3?" While the WAT promises a transition tool in the future - I would challenge folks to think of the transition as the prefect opportunity to re-think their Web sites.
Rather than simply moving your current site organization and navigation over, this is a good time to think re-focusing your Web site in a more customer-centric way.
If you're not happy with your current Web site - this is the perfect time for a fresh start.
Evaluate your current home page.
- Does it reflect customer needs or is it simply a reflection of your administrative organization?
- Does it contain the information your clients need?
- Is the information easy to find?
- Is the navigation hierarchy in the order of what your clients think is important - or what you think is important?
- Have you simply defaulted to alphabetical listings to avoid the whole issue?
The Carewords data can help you make informed decisions about placement on a page.
Statements about what you do are less important that statements about what you can do for your clients. Keep these key customer questions in mind:
- Why is this important to me?
- How does this help me?
- What have you done for me lately?
You don't need to re-do your entire site. Much of your current content can be copied and pasted into your new site using your new navigation and organization scheme.
One of the user comments from the Toolkit site was to add a Strategic Vision themed blog header. Whew! This was the easiest suggestion thus far!
If you're a regular reader of this blog, you might have noticed that the blog header changed several weeks ago - in advance of the Toolkit. This is one element of the Toolkit that isn't actually in the Toolkit Web site.
"So how do I change the header on my ANR Blog?"
Easy!
From your Portal, click on Edit next to the name of your blog, just like you were going to start a new post.
Click on the Administration link in the upper part of the left navigation of your blog.

This takes you to the Administration Tools section of the blog system.
In the Administration box on the right, click on Edit Blog Style.

Now you're given banner choices, pick the style on the right and you're blog is now sporting the new look.

The Strategic Vision Toolkit was launched this week. (Hooray!) One of our primary goals with the toolkit is consistency so that communications, both print and electronic, have a common look and feel. This is important in communicating that we are all part of the same brand family and building brand awareness, but on the Web it has another important role.
In an earlier post I wrote about the publication Don't Make Me Think by Steve Krug. In this very readable book, Krug highlights the importance of navigational signposts on the Web and uses brick-and-mortar stores as an example.
Let's say you're in a Target store. Most Target stores have a similar layout, so that customers can find the departments and the items they're looking for easily and quickly. Signage is well placed and highly visible, so shoppers can find their way around the store. You know where the front door is because you walked through it.
But once you're on the Web, it's a whole different ballgame. Those physical signposts aren't there to let you know you're in the right place. A few misplaced clicks and you have no idea where you are or how you got there.
So what do Web visitors rely on to make sure they're in the right place?
Good Web sites have a navigation system all their own - visual landmarks. These visual landmarks are color, fonts, styling, and placement information that let visitors know they're in the right place as they move from page to page within your site.
Jake Kupiec, who some of you met at the Statewide Meeting last spring, calls these systems "khakis and a white shirt." They're the basic foundation of an organization's look. Not a uniform, but a foundation.
The toolkit gives you these visual landmarks through a series of customizable templates. And once launched, you'll find the toolkit elements are built into Site Builder 3.
If you've ever wondered what factors make a news item go viral, there's an interesting article in today's New York Times about a study by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania on characteristics of the most e-mailed articles. The Penn researchers tracked more than 7,500 articles published from August 2008 to February 2009, assessing each article’s popularity.
Storytellers, take note!
I may have mentioned that back in a "previous life" at the Gould Voice Research Center, I was the PI on the dissemination component of a large grant funded by the NIH. Back then, when people asked me what I did, I often quipped, "Diplomacy and translation services."
While that may have been a tongue in cheek description of my duties, actually it was pretty spot on. Often as communicators in the sciences our task is to "translate" the activities and findings of researchers not only into language that is easily understandable by lay audiences, but translating the findings with these 3 key questions in mind:
- Why does this matter?
- How do I benefit?
- What have you done for me lately?
The average score of our general audience summaries is around 65. Stakeholder summaries average a score of 30.
When writing for the Web, remember that less is more. The bullet points from the banners hanging at the reception for stakeholders at the statewide meeting are also available in the Toolkit.
A common question I get on this topic is "Isn't that dumbing it down?" No, it's being an effective communicator, and understanding your audience.

