1. Managing a Country Website
Anne Aubert, OCCI
Office of Corporate Communications
04 May 2017
2. Did you know?
FAO has 194 Member Nations plus
one Member Organization, the
European Union and two Associate
Members, The Faroe Islands and
Tokelau.
FAO is present in 151 countries
through different kinds of offices
and representation arrangements.
80 FAO
Representations
(excluding 13
hosted in Regional
and Subregional
Offices)
72 Country
websites
online
Source: FAO – April 2017
3. Outline
Learning objectives
Understanding the importance of managing the content
Presentation of the template for Country offices
Corporate guidelines and policies
Questions and answers
4. Learning objectives
By the end of this webinar, you will be able to:
Evaluate if you should have (or continue to have) a Country website
Know which type of content you need to gather
Understand the principles of web writing
Understand the template and the sections of a Country website
Be familiar with FAO guidelines and policies related to online presence
Review your existing website applying what you learned today
6. Purpose of a Country website
1. Communicate about the work of FAO in the Country
2. Address the needs of the target audience
7. Pre-requisites for a Country website
Content and multimedia resources: this is the most important part!
Commitment from the FAO Representative and the Country office:
A website requires efforts to be regularly updated with new content
FAOR, regular staff and consultants should ensure that the communication person is
informed about the work in the Country
Communication officer/consultant:
Responsible for maintaining and updating the website
Vacant positions should be filled as a priority by the office
8. Basic website requirements
Content: written for the web AND focused on your
readers
Consistency: keeping it simple and consistent is one
of the most important basic website requirements
Branding: compliant with FAO template for countries
and with FAO logo policy
9. Gathering content
Field projects
FAO activities in the Country
FAO campaigns: zero hunger, SDGs, international years (such as pulses,
quinoa), WFD, …
Events, meetings, workshops
Videos, photos, audio interviews, …
New publication
11. Web writing tips
1. Don't just copy the technical content
One of the most common mistakes is to copy and paste the content from technical documents onto the
website. Writing for the Web needs to be different from writing for print. Translate technical content into clear
messages.
2. Keep your content short and to the point
The attention spans of people these days have become increasingly shorter. The average attention span is only eight
seconds long! You need to short and to the point from the beginning, so make sure you convey the message in your
opening paragraph.
3. Write news and articles in an inverted pyramid style
If you think of your content as a pyramid, the broadest coverage of the topic should be listed first. Then move on to
more and more specific as you get further into the page.
4. Think about your audience
Country websites are mainly targeted to a local audience. Make your content relevant to the country!
12. Web writing tips (continued)
5. Use lists and short paragraphs
Use shorter paragraphs, clear sub headings, lists and bullet points to break up your content. Bullet points are an
easily scannable way to present multiple points, they can help to break up text, so they provide a visual break for
the reader.
6. Use images to expand on your text
Images can be tempting to sprinkle through pages. But having random images spread through your webpages can be
distracting and confusing to your readers. Use images to expand on the text, not just decorate it.
7. Insert links in your content
Identify the topics and keywords for which FAO already has a webpage and insert the link in your text.
8. Don't apply these rules blindly
All of these rules can be broken. Know your audience and know why you're breaking the rule before you do so.
13. Presentation and layout
Keep the content BALANCED
between right/left columns and main body
Use good quality photos
Avoid pages looking too empty
Be CONSISTENT… and compliant!
14. Keep your content fresh and up-to-date
Focus on these sections:
News
In Depth
Publications
Multimedia: videos, photos, …
Success stories
Frequency of update:
Weekly (ideally)
Monthly (at least)
Yearly: do you really need a website?
15. When there is no Country website…
You have various ways to promote the information from a Country office:
Regional Office
Country Profiles
In Action section
FAO homepage
Social media channels
Liaise with the regional communication officer and with OCC!
32. Social media policy
FAO maintains official flagship accounts on the most popular and strategic
social media platforms.
OCC is responsible for maintaining these accounts. No other FAO-affiliated
accounts should be created on these platforms.
Use of corporate accounts allows us to:
ensure a strong FAO presence instead of a diluted one
build a large community of followers
http://www.fao.org/communications/policy/social-media/
33. Corporate Communication policy
and Web guidelines
FAO’s decentralization strategy aims to improve the effectiveness of the
Organization’s work at the country, sub-regional and regional levels.
Important to communicate effectively and to put across the messages that
can help the Organization achieve its priorities.
Web policy and guidelines: ensure that FAO presents itself as One FAO and
consolidate its web presence under FAO.org
Domain names: it is NOT allowed to purchase them!
FAO logo: how to use it and download the latest version
http://intranet.fao.org/about_fao/faobrand/
34. FAO Document Repository (FDR)
All documents and publications produced by FAO are stored in the FDR
No local uploads are allowed
Publishing Workflow System (PWS): manages the production of all FAO publications
Newsletters: communication tool for sending regular updates
OPTION 1: Use of Adestra for automatic formatted emails
OPTION 2: PDF newsletters submitted to PWS
http://intranet.fao.org/departments/occ/how_to
35. Contacts
For Country websites and web related questions:
For Social media:
For FAO Document Repository:
For Webinars:
web@fao.org
document-repository@fao.org
anne.aubert@fao.org / noor.ardianingrum@fao.org
social-media@fao.org
36. Next Webinar: 17 May 2017
“Getting the most out of Typo3 for your Country Website”
Thank you!
