Don’t make me think*! (How to provide online users with what they really need)

Pinnacle Communications training Workshop 4 Your E-Image

* A great usability book by Steve Krug,

£ 17,49 on www.amazon.co.uk

Who I am

• Brussels-based new media expert

• Online communication strategy

• Information architecture

• Online applications design

• Social media expertise

• Usability expertise

• Focus on European Affairs

Workshop aims

This workshop will help you to design and to setup the best online presence for your project

• Understanding the current Internet context

• Identifying key success factors

• Adopting the most efficient work method

• Design an excellent briefing to subcontractors

• Feel comfortable & safe in your daily work

Life is not easy

• Some of you just start with an online presence project

• Some of you already initiated a project

• Some of you don’t know a lot about the Web

• Some of you could probably be in my shoes

• And we have so many things to discuss…

Let’s share our experiences

during 118 minutes

Context : Web 2.0

Web 2.0 was not a new thing. It has been a tipping point*

• User-generated content

• Social : relation-based

• Many to many, bottom-up

• Push > Pull

• Simplicity is key, user-centred

• Participative

• Control > Influence

* Malcom Gladwell

Context : Media convergence

• It is a telephone

• It is a computer

• It is a TV set

• It is a camera

• It is always on

• It is in everybody’s pocket

It is a SMARTPHONE

Context: tomorrow ?

• A Semantic Web ?

• A Global Giant Graph (Tim Berners-Lee) ?

• An augmented reality world (Google) ?

• The support of the 3rd industrial revolution (Rifkin) ?

Key success factors

• Meet users’ main (not all) expectations

• People are lazy, and/or in a hurry : simplicity is key

• Provide users with a pleasant experience

Adopt the “Less is more” approach

A Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe house

A puzzle with many pieces

• Brand image (name, logo, colours…)

• Content (text, figures, data, pictures, videos…)

• Channels (email, web, social media…)

• People (you, project partners, graphic experts, writers, web-designers, developers…)

The key is the method

The big picture

• Think: audience, top tasks, content, services…

• Design: strategy, plan, architecture, main features…

• Build: content, interface, applications…

• Operate: feed, promote, moderate, update, improve…

• Monitor: analytics, users’ feedback,…

An online communication

system is a living being

Which channels are the best?

Asset 1: a strong brand image

Key qualities of a good logo • Simple • Attractive • Readable • Recognisable • All-terrain (Colours / Grey / Black and White) Do not forget multimedia aspects • Printed material • Web • Small smartphones screens • Banners • Goodies

Asset 2: an efficient website

• Users Top tasks definition • Name / URL • Information architecture (7 menus * 3 levels golden rule) • Features: “Less is more” • Web content (cfr. Web writing golden rules) • Do not forget content lifecycle : publish, update, archive • Usability : Don’t make me think ! • Visibility / Popularity (Search Engine Optimisation) • Inbound & Outbound links • Social features / Interactivity • Do not forget mobile versions (Responsive design)

Goodie: how to please Google

• Choose a meaningful <TITLE> tag (window title) • Each word in the URL has its importance • Choose one meaningful <H1> tag (page title) • “Natural” well structured content (H2, Strong, etc…) • Don’t try to fool Google • Alternate (ALT) texts on images • Choose meaningful links (no “Click here”) • Increase the number of inbound & outbound links • Update your content frequently • Choose the right (i.e. SPECIFIC) keywords • Draft a meaningful “Description” text • Respect technical standards (XHTML, CSS, WAI…)

Asset 3: a relevant E-newsletter

• Complementary community tool (web, social media…) • Push / Pull • Opt In / Opt Out • Subscription is key • and content is king: “best of the web” is a good option • Technical pitfalls:

• Readability = professionalism • Format (HTML and/or PDF) • Delivery is critical (junk filters…) : test, test & test again • Try to get delivery statistics (bouncing rate, etc.)

• Allow unsubscribe

Asset 3: a relevant E-newsletter

The Pre-Waste experience

Asset 4: a social media presence

BUT : it is tricky to manage, and it requires adequate human resources.

5 good reasons to setup a social media presence:

• It is viral

• It is interactive

• It is the way digital natives interact today

• It is based on trusted relationships

• It is NOT anonymous

Asset 4: a social media presence

The I-SPEED experience

Blogs

• Definition: web logs are the pillars of Web 2.0

• Pros & Cons:

• “Power to the people”

• Easy to set up

• Typically an expert media

• Difficult to find the right tone info/personal opinions

• Not trendy anymore

Good practice: http://www.lacomeuropeenne.fr

Facebook

• Definition: “The” Network, tends to replace the Web

• Pros & Cons: • Hyper popular, hyper viral (Like/Share); “It can do all,

omnipresent, it is everywhere”.

• Push information, based on trusted relationships

• Very efficient in terms of community building

• General public, not professional audience

• Confusion between “friends” and “colleagues”

• Difficult to find the right tone / periodicity / publishing policy

• Difficult to moderate

Good practice: http://www.facebook.com/cancerresearchuk

LinkedIn

• Definition: The professional social network

• Pros & Cons:

• Excellent tool to create networks (Groups)

• Excellent recruitment tool

• Excellent research tool

• Good tool to emulate discussions

• No “trolls”, no junk email (trusted relations)

Good practice: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=2358277&trk=myg_ugrp_ovr

Do not forget INTERREG IVC group on LinkedIn

Twitter

• Definition: Micro-blogging. SMS/Web

• Pros & Cons: • Mobile

• Immediate

• Geek tool (@Phil, #hashtag, RT @Petra, etc.)

• 140 chars. Short format = short ideas ?

• Tips & Tricks: • A Twitter feed works better if it is run by a real person

Good practice: https://twitter.com/#!/melenchon2012

Youtube & Flickr

• Definition: Multimedia Sharing platforms

• Pros & Cons: • Viral

• Free (no limit) and high quality service

• Comments are possible

• Difficult to moderate

• Tips & Tricks: • Embed videos located on Youtube in your website

Good practice: http://www.youtube.com/user/ESA?ob=0&feature=results_main

RSS

• Definition: “Really Simple Syndication”

• Pros & Cons:

• Standard

• Easy to set up

• Convenient for users

• Automatic push

• Limited size (pull to website)

Colleagues’ good practices

WaterCore: www.watercore.eu

UNICREDS: www.unicreds.eu

ENSPIRE: www.enspire.eu

Q & A

Don’t be shy.

Share your questions.

Share your experience.