Intranets - ten steps to getting your message across

Intranets - 10 steps to getting your message across

While the intranet is a fantastic tool, you really have to fight to get your message through the information overkill that seems to pervade organisations nowadays. Steve Nichols of InfoTech Communications takes a closer look at how you can make it easier for employees to get the message.

You know the problem. You need to get an important message across to employees and you have the corporate intranet at your disposal. But the trouble is, employees have so many demands on their time and attention. They have a group home page, their regional home page, a departmental home page, a divisional microsite, newsfeeds galore - and their real job to get on with too.

So how can you help them?

1. Get to the point
Read any newspaper and you will find that a good news story gets to the point quickly and succinctly. If you haven't told the story in the first sentence of the first paragraph and preferably in about 20-25 words, you have failed.

If in doubt think of what you would say if someone asked you what the main point of your story was. You can virtually guarantee that the first sentence you utter would make a better opening paragraph than the usual waffle that companies seem to want to publish.

2. Keep it simple
Long-winded prose has no place on an intranet. Get to the point, tell people what they need to know and stop there. Back this up with a hyperlink to a longer more detailed story if need be.

3. Use your headline
Many people give little thought to the use of headlines and summaries in online stories. In fact, these are more likely to be read than any story that has to clicked on to be read. For example, the headline "Important News" and the summary "Click here for important news" are utterly meaningless. The user has learned nothing and you have not given them enough information to decide whether to click further. Make sure your headline tells your reader something.

4. Use your headline and summary together
People often write these as an afterthought. But work the two together and you can impart a lot more information. The trick is to ensure that you don't just repeat the headline information in the summary, but use the extra space to add something. For example, "Manchester Branch to close" as a headline is good, but if the summary then says "Universal Widget's Manchester Branch is to close" you have just wasted space. Better to say "Cost-cutting exercise will see Leeds being the main branch in the North" has added more detail.

5. Get your timing right.
Find out the best time to publish information onto the intranet. If your news is important there is no point burying it in the middle of three lesser stories. Why not leave it an hour and then publish your main story. That way it will stand out. Core times for maximum readership are likely to be in 09:30-11.00 period, but not on Mondays or Fridays or just before/after a public holiday.

6. Use Questions and Answers
Sometimes a long, rambling story that contains the information people need is just too much to wade through. If you can, break down the story into meaningful questions and answers - the ubiquitous Q&As. The important thing is to ensure that the questions are ones that people would really ask and that the answers are totally meaningful.

7. Use Summaries
At the head of the article, use five or so bulleted points that sums up the content below. That way, the reader can get the gist of the feature without having to read the whole thing. If they then wish to dig deeper they can.

8. Prioritise your articles
It is human nature to read the top story first. So make sure that if you need to publish three or so stories that the most important one is placed at the top of the pile. Make sure it stays there for a good five hours or so for maximum effect. Depending on how your intranet is laid out, make sure it doesn't disappear further down the list and so needs the user to scroll - the modern day equivalent of being "below the fold".

9. Use reminders or pointers
Send an e-mail out once a week that summarises the main news that has appeared. You just need to show the headline and the URL. Better still have a clickable web link. You can order the stories to suit your particular needs and the weight you place behind each story.

10. Highlight important stories with blobs or colour
Nothing makes important stories stand out more than having a red blob or some other image attached to them. You can make up an "Urgent" image and include that if you like. Don't overdo it though or people will switch off.

Steve Nichols (steve@infotechcomms.co.uk) runs InfoTech Communications, which specialises in online communications, and has acted as intranet consultant and trainer for many blue-chip companies including Aviva, AWG, Shell, BT, Standard Life, HBOS, BNFL, Accenture and Australia New Zealand Bank.