Transcript ppt - WUSM Web Theme

Creating Content for the Web
Medical Public Affairs/Integrated Marketing & Branding
What is content?
• Information made available through some medium (written
word, illustration, music, etc.)
• Includes text but also
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Photos
Graphics
Infographics
Audio
Video
Blogs
Medical Public Affairs
Integrated Marketing & Branding
Why is content important?
• It’s why people come to your website
• Content is king: Even Google says you need
plenty of rich information about your subject
matter that provides value to your audience
• This can improve your site’s search rank (where
your site appears in search results lists)
Medical Public Affairs
Integrated Marketing & Branding
What’s my goal?
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Tell my story
Promote my mission
Attract visitors
Increase visibility
Build reputation
…
Medical Public Affairs
Integrated Marketing & Branding
Show, don’t tell
• Use stories or examples
to explain abstract
concepts
• Be descriptive and
specific
• Use strong, active verbs
• E.g. 1 “We are a leader in
the field of basket
weaving.” X
• E.g. 2 “We use the best
weavers and finest
materials to produce
beautiful, high quality
baskets.” ✔
Medical Public Affairs
Integrated Marketing & Branding
Know thy audience
• Write and structure your site for your audience
(not your organization):
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General public?
Donors?
Patients?
Students?
Potential hires?
Faculty?
Employees?
Medical Public Affairs
Integrated Marketing & Branding
Be engaging
• Tell a story
• Use simple terms and
active language people
outside the organization can
relate to
• Avoid jargon/business speak
• Use metaphors, be creative
• Speak to your readers, not at
them – be conversational
• Don’t be afraid to use ‘we,’
‘you’ – write like you would
write to a friend
• Start with the most
important/compelling
points to draw the reader in
Medical Public Affairs
Integrated Marketing & Branding
Keep it active
• “We did this,” not “This was done.”
• If you can add “by zombies” after the verb, it’s passive!
E.g. “The experiment was done… by zombies” x
“We did the experiment.” ✓
Medical Public Affairs
Integrated Marketing & Branding
Be brief
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Edit your content down, then edit some more
Less than 500 words per page, ideally
Use short sentences and paragraphs
People tend to scan, not read web content
Break up text with:
• Subheadings
• Lists
• Images
• Captions
• Callouts
Medical Public Affairs
Integrated Marketing & Branding
Review your content
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Have others look at it
Proofread, edit
Do a content audit of your site
Revisit it frequently
• Does it need updating?
• Are any links broken/out-of-date?
• Can you repurpose it for another part of
your site/social media/marketing materials
Medical Public Affairs
Integrated Marketing & Branding
Samples
Sample No. 1
(long, hard to read, passive)
Sample No. 2
(short, scannable, active)
Nebraska is filled with
internationally recognized
attractions that draw large
crowds of people every year,
without fail. In 1996, some of
the most popular places were
Fort Robinson State Park
(355,000 visitors), Scotts Bluff
National Monument (132,166),
Arbor Lodge State Historical
Park & Museum (100,000),
Carhenge (86,598), Stuhr
Museum of the Prairie Pioneer
(60,002), and Buffalo Bill Ranch
State Historical Park (28,446).
In 1996, six of the most-visited
places in Nebraska were:
•Fort Robinson State Park
•Scotts Bluff National Monument
•Arbor Lodge State Historical
Park & Museum
•Carthenge
•Stuhr Museum of the Prairie
Pioneer
•Buffalo Bill Ranch State
Historical Park
Source: http://www.nngroup.com/articles/how-users-read-on-the-web/
Medical Public Affairs
Integrated Marketing & Branding
Samples
by zombies! x
Sample No. 1
(long, hard to read, passive)
Sample No. 2
(short, scannable, active)
Nebraska is filled with
internationally recognized
attractions that draw large
crowds of people every year,
without fail. In 1996, some of
the most popular places were
Fort Robinson State Park
(355,000 visitors), Scotts Bluff
National Monument (132,166),
Arbor Lodge State Historical
Park & Museum (100,000),
Carhenge (86,598), Stuhr
Museum of the Prairie Pioneer
(60,002), and Buffalo Bill Ranch
State Historical Park (28,446).
In 1996, six of the most-visited
places in Nebraska were:
•Fort Robinson State Park
•Scotts Bluff National Monument
•Arbor Lodge State Historical
Park & Museum
•Carthenge
•Stuhr Museum of the Prairie
Pioneer
•Buffalo Bill Ranch State
Historical Park
Source: http://www.nngroup.com/articles/how-users-read-on-the-web/
Medical Public Affairs
Integrated Marketing & Branding
Samples
by zombies! x
Sample No. 1
(long, hard to read, passive)
Sample No. 2
(short, scannable, active)
Nebraska is filled with
internationally recognized
attractions that draw large
crowds of people every year,
without fail. In 1996, some of
the most popular places were
Fort Robinson State Park
(355,000 visitors), Scotts Bluff
National Monument (132,166),
Arbor Lodge State Historical
Park & Museum (100,000),
Carhenge (86,598), Stuhr
Museum of the Prairie Pioneer
(60,002), and Buffalo Bill Ranch
State Historical Park (28,446).
In 1996, six of the most-visited
places in Nebraska were:
•Fort Robinson State Park
•Scotts Bluff National Monument
•Arbor Lodge State Historical
Park & Museum
•Carthenge
•Stuhr Museum of the Prairie
Pioneer
•Buffalo Bill Ranch State
Historical Park
Hard to read list
(use bullets)
Source: http://www.nngroup.com/articles/how-users-read-on-the-web/
Medical Public Affairs
Integrated Marketing & Branding
Use multiple content elements
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Headers
Links
Lists
Keywords
Call to Action
Images
Video
Medical Public Affairs
Integrated Marketing & Branding
Headers (H1)
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All about content
Keep them short - one line, if possible
Make them descriptive - what’s this about (in one line)?
Include keywords - words/phrases people might Google
Be clever (but not so clever you’re not being clear)
Remember: the header may double as the page’s URL – make
it descriptive to guide your reader. E.g.
www.example.com/this_article_is_about_writing_web_content
Subheaders (H2)
• Use subheaders to break up text and help direct readers
Medical Public Affairs
Integrated Marketing & Branding
Links
• Use links in the body of your text – they stand out and give
readers clear information about what they are reading
• Make the link informative: ‘For more information, see the
CDC’s Parasites page.’ is better than ‘For more
information, see this link.’
Medical Public Affairs
Integrated Marketing & Branding
Lists
• Lists are easier to scan than paragraphs
• Use bullets or numbers to list multiple
ideas
• Example of a list:
• Make it short: don’t use too may
points.
• Call it out: bold important sections.
• Make it descriptive: describe each
point succinctly.
• Make it snappy: keep each bullet
short and to the point.
Medical Public Affairs
Integrated Marketing & Branding
Sample list
Sample No. 1
(long, hard to read, passive)
Sample No. 2
(short, scannable, active)
Nebraska is filled with
internationally recognized
attractions that draw large
crowds of people every year,
without fail. In 1996, some of
the most popular places were
Fort Robinson State Park
(355,000 visitors), Scotts Bluff
National Monument (132,166),
Arbor Lodge State Historical
Park & Museum (100,000),
Carhenge (86,598), Stuhr
Museum of the Prairie Pioneer
(60,002), and Buffalo Bill Ranch
State Historical Park (28,446).
In 1996, six of the most-visited
places in Nebraska were:
•Fort Robinson State Park
•Scotts Bluff National Monument
•Arbor Lodge State Historical
Park & Museum
•Carthenge
•Stuhr Museum of the Prairie
Pioneer
•Buffalo Bill Ranch State
Historical Park
Source: http://www.nngroup.com/articles/how-users-read-on-the-web/
Medical Public Affairs
Integrated Marketing & Branding
Keywords
• Use the words your audience uses to search (e.g. ‘content’
or ‘writing’) – use analytics to find this info
• Include keywords in:
• title
• headers/subheaders
• image captions/ALT text
• page description/meta data (max 150 char.):
Medical Public Affairs
Integrated Marketing & Branding
Call to action
• What do you want people to do with
this information?
• Often a button:
Share
Register
Visit
Apply
Download
Give
Call
Make an
appointment
Medical Public Affairs
Integrated Marketing & Branding
A picture is worth…
• Add high resolution images, but
optimize for web (correct file size,
sharp, not blurry)
• Caption your image with useful info
(keywords, etc.)
• Make sure you are allowed to use
the image (photographer and
subject permission – HIPAA)
• Add TITLE text (seen on hover
over) and ALT text (seen when
image won’t load)
• Make sure images are relevant and
up-to-date
The Mona Lisa by
Leonardo da Vinci is one
of the most famous works
of art in the world.
Medical Public Affairs
Integrated Marketing & Branding
Video
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Great if you have strong visuals
Keep it short (ideally under 4 mins.)
As with text, tell a story
Include a transcript
Use a video sharing service like YouTube or
Vimeo to:
• help users find your content
• avoid having to host it on your own site
Medical Public Affairs
Integrated Marketing & Branding
Other content types
• Presentations – SlideShare is useful for sharing
PowerPoint or other forms of presentations
• Infographics – powerful when illustrating complex data
• Audio – can help tell testimonial-style stories (where
there is no video), to go along with a slideshow, for
podcasts
• Blogs – less formal outlet for content (e.g. to express
opinions); keep it updated by posting frequently
Medical Public Affairs
Integrated Marketing & Branding
Blogs
Medical Public Affairs
Integrated Marketing & Branding
Infographics
• Visually display data
in a clear, concise way
• Draw attention to a
specific point
• Show
differences/contrasts
in information
Medical Public Affairs
Integrated Marketing & Branding
Resources
• Writing for the Web by Jakob Nielson/NNGroup (web
articles)
• Clarity and Readability Checklist for Content Creators
by Meet Content (blog)
• Creating Valuable Content by Leap of Faith Web Design
(pdf checklist)
• 34 Tips and Tricks for Planning and Creating Content
by HubSpot (pdf download)
• Content Strategy for the Web by Kristina Halvorson &
Melissa Rach (book)
Medical Public Affairs
Integrated Marketing & Branding
Connect with us
http://medicine.wustl.edu
http://twitter.com/WUSTLmed
http://www.facebook.com/WUSTLmedicine.health
http://plus.google.com/+WashingtonUniversitySch
oolofMedicineStLouis
Medical Public Affairs
Integrated Marketing & Branding
Thank you!
Gaia Remerowski
[email protected]
©2015
Medical Public Affairs
Integrated Marketing & Branding