Achieving Reputation Outcomes on the Web

May 30, 2007

Presenters: Ty Glasgow, Jeff Johnson, Big Bad Interactive

Ty Glasgow

Web strategy

Brand and Web strategy have a major impact in all areas. It needs to matter.

Increase yield > identify and overcome objections > accepted student site (restricted), remove silos through cross-referencing all content, differentiate.

Increase alumni engagement > cross-organizational interation > prospective student referrals, internships, contextual giving modules.

Increase US News peer assessment, recruit faculty > channels for peer audiences > scholarly accomplishments, department sites, accurate and consistent information.

Before working on a Web strategy, does the institution understand its core business objectives and target audiences? That comes first.

Intuitive, manifest model, easy to decode, works to enable the scent of information.

Strong/differentiating presentation of the brand and content. Compels, informs, guides user experience.

Macro: outcomes measured against relevant business objectives. Micro: campaign/tactical-based measures.

All information should be 3 clicks away from the home page.
Usability “gurus” say …
Award-winning sites are effective sites.
Happy users equal positive outcomes.
You have less than 8 seconds to win the user.
“M-TV” look.
Be entertaining to prospective students — provide the right window into the experience, but don’t feel a need to entertain.
Prospective student link — the whole site should be for prospective students.
Admissions sites drive Admissions outcomes — the whole site should support admissions.
Centralized versus decentralized — false dichotomy.
CMS will solve all my problems.
My institution’s Web presence can’t be tamed — if you want to participate in the design discussion, you need to have participate in the strategy discussion.

US News logo on home page.
Reinvent Facebook (current students and recent grads) or MySpace (prospects) or LinkedIn (for alumni) — learn how to coexist with these.
Use blogs for natural communities (like current students and alumni) but not prospects (there’s no natural, existing affinity).
Podcast interesting faculty and guest speakers (for current students and alumni).
The penitentiary look for photography (no people, buildings).
Home page news and events with more than 3 or 4 items each — separate upcoming announcements from past reports.
Fly-out menus — eliminate them!
Too many “give here” or “apply now” buttons.
Quick links on the home page — extraordinarily bad solution for poor information architecture. Very high use of search also indicates poor information architecture.

The key to unversal navigation is understanding those overarching areas that are relevant to everyone, to tell their story. Continues through to schools.

Think Web governance and organization — nothing else works without this.
Think cutting across organizational boundaries to present information.
Think multidisciplinary — develop a strategy first — then integrate IA, interface design, and functionality.
Think whole, not parts — the biggest leap towards driving Admissions, Advancement, and Academic reputation outcomes
Think outcomes — it’s why you’re doing this.

Does your Web site feel like your campus?
We try to focus on the revenue generating audiences, and encourage the smaller successes with current student and faculty who are often very task oriented.
To the extent you can keep within your .edu domain.
Use “major and minor” instead of “departments and programs.”
Make sure you have a strong oversight committee and integrated implementation group before you start anything complex.