If you’re an Australian PR Director or Manager how central is your web site in your communication PR strategy and how much control and influence do you and your team have over its content?
Two matters in the last couple of days cause me to pose this question.
One was an article in the Australian Financial Review on Thursday (29 April) claiming that the Australian arm of international research firm Forrester had branded the web sites of Australia’s big four banks as a “uniform failure” under a new usability scorecard it is using.
This article (which unfortunately is only accessible if you are an AFR subscriber) says that Forrester believes that despite the banks spending millions of dollars to revamp their websites they are “scattered”, “inefficient”, “jumbled” and that the sites contain “flawed search systems and inefficient tasks flows”.
The second was an article by the prolific Australian blogger Craig Pearce. His thrust was more PR and communication specific. Paraphrasing him he asked:
• Are the communications people getting thought leadership and other strategic messaging into the content of corporate websites?
• Where does PR fits as a provider of content to corporate websites?
Forget about the Forrester research for now. It’s a good bookmark regarding websites – and is interesting – but it’s more about the tech side of things. Craig Pearce’s questions are more relevant to PR Directors and Managers.
I’ve been writing on this topic in PR Influences for nearly a decade. And I’ve posted a response to some other issues raised in Craig’s blog. Here’s my takeout on some of the issues and challenges – but I’m on the outside looking in. Other’s with the practical in-house PR and communications experience may have more to contribute – and may disagree with me.
Here are 10 factors that I believe are relevant when considering the role of PR or communication professionals in corporate web sites.
Why PR & Communications should be involved:
1. A website is the central over-arching communications face of the organisation.
2. Communication strategy and messaging should be reflected in the web site.
3. Research shows that many stakeholders – including media and investors and those who advise them – regularly access an organisation’s web site.
4. Search engines are a key deliverer of visitors to web sites and if yours is a competitive business, then a key to getting more visitors to regularly post relevant content, which is search optimised, on your site.
Reasons why PR has difficulty getting involved:
5. If you are part of an international organisation then its odds on your site will be controlled offshore and the ability for the PR department to post content, let-alone have a say in strategy, will be limited or non-existent.
6. The IT departmental battle! In many organisations’ IT rules the roost and technical considerations over-ride everything else. PR can’t get a look in!
7. The marketing departmental battle. In some organisations’ sites are completely sales and marketing driven with offers and deals the key priority. Again it’s hard for PR to get a look in.
8. If your organisation is ASX listed. This means that the site may be dominated by obtuse statements and a host of other regulatory and legal documents that restrict the ability for the PR Department to post coherent content on the site.
How PR can get a foothold?
9. Do your research to demonstrate that key stakeholders or audiences which the PR Department is responsible for reaching are online savvy and access the web site. Then show the gap that exists through excluding PR (or conversely the added value that the involvement of PR can bring).
10. Try to get onside with IT, marketing or your overseas principles and create the opportunity for PR input.
Finally, a word about Forrester. What qualifications do they bring to the table to critique, and condemn, web sites? Their web site breaks just about every rule in the book. Try and access their Australian operation!
These specific articles which I’ve previously written are relevant to this blog:
• Is your website communicating what you want?
• PR and the Web: New strategies achieve higher rankings on search engines.
Further related articles I have written on online media, web, search and social media can be accessed at PR Influences.
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