Communication in the Post-Print World

Presented by: Sam Knox, ONE/Northwestwww.onenw.org

Print vs. WebPrint Publishing

• Static presentation

• Precision presentation

• Variety of fonts, complex layouts, resolutions

• Linear consumption of content

• Content tends to be verbose, narrative

Print vs. WebWeb Publishing

• Mutable presentation

• Suggested presentation

• Limited set of fonts, layouts, resolutions

• Non-linear consumption of content

• Content tends to be terse, actionable

Push vs. Pull Traditional Web Publishing

• Organizational website

• “Build it and they will come”

• Traffic will organically arrive at your website

• “Gravity Well”

• Content is discoverable, but not distributed

Push vs. PullBroadcast Publishing

• Email, RSS, Twitter, Facebook

• Content is broadcasted to interested persons

• Often tied back to website or blog

• Transactions can be written to a database

Roles and Responsibilities

Best Practices

• Do not copy and paste directly from Word!

• Make content scannable

• Write short, concise paragraphs

• Use hyperlinks effectively

• Prepare images properly

Translation TasksTranslation tasks often include:

• Text formatting

• Hyperlink text

• Preparation of images

• Proper spacing

• Testing

• Troubleshooting

Content Strategist

from Content Strategy: The Philosophy of Data by Rachel Lovinger www.boxesandarrows.com

The job of the content strategist is to make content:

• Relevant to people (proper tone, style)

• Useful to machines (metadata, document structure, SEO)

• Efficient to produce (business rules, workflow)

• Comprehensive (content review, refresh, gap analysis)

Publication Workflow

The Basics• Who has rights to publish content?

• Do you need a review process?

• Who needs notifications?

• Same workflow for all channels of

communication?

Extra Credit• Use consistent language

• Create a publishing calendar

• Create a style guide

Think Like your Audience

• Give it 10-20 seconds

• What does it say?

• Was it interesting?

• Did the page ask you to do anything?

• Would you act on it?

Adding it UpQuality content matters otherwise . . .

• People will stop listening

• Train your audience to ignore you

• No social change

• No education of the public

• Poor reputation

Email

Choosing a ProviderAnswer these questions:

• What volume of email are you sending?

• How big is your subscriber list?

• How many lists?

• Do you need subscribers to be able to opt-out of each list?

• Do you need to be able to schedule sends ahead of time?

• What are your integration requirements?

• Do you need multiple logins to the same account?

Elements of a Newsletter

• Table of contents

• Short snippets linked back to website

• Do not include full article text in email

• Mixture of news, events, etc

• Great for informing subscribers, updates on programs/campaigns

• Not very effective for fundraising or organizing

Elements of an Action Alert

• One, readily identifiable action

• Repeat link with different wording

• Put action link on its own line

• Few or no images

• Intriguing subject line (ask a question, provocative, timely)

• Personalization

• Segmentation

Social Media

Who’s on Facebook?

Build Relationships• A new medium

• Connections, affinity

• Get to know your constituents

• Listening

• Lower bar to participation

• Puts face to an organization

• Learn new communication behaviors

Social Media Publishing• Short format

• Drive traffic back to website

• Conversations

• Align with other communications channels

• Viral

Emerging Trends

• A “people-centric” web

• Portable identity

• Persistent relationships

• Privacy concerns

• The blur between professional and private life

• Numerous audience networks