Content tactics to help execute your intranet content strategy. Crafting great intranet pages. Presentation given at Interaction conference, London, October 2014.

1. Text
Content tactics
executing your strategy on the page
V2

2. @Wedge — kilobox.net
Wedge Black
UK
Past intranet manager
Currently consultant
ClearBox Consulting, and
Content Formula, and the
WIC
I like dogs, cats, books, plants
(not flowers), and insects

3. Text
Beyond the technical
Beyond features

6. Creating
intranet content
Effective headlines
Images
Links
Layout
Search
Writing
Documents vs pages
Engagement
Channels
Mobile
http://d.pr/dlJX

7. Content strategy
“Content strategy plans for the creation, publication, and
governance of useful, usable content.”
Kristina Halvorson
“The main goal of content strategy is to use words and
data to create unambiguous content that supports
meaningful, interactive experiences. We have to be
experts in all aspects of communication in order to do
this effectively.”
Rachel Lovinger

8. Content tactics
Micro-content strategy
Page-level / interaction-level content strategy
UX + UI + ID + communications
A matter of scale and focus

10. Effective headlines
Help people choose what to read
Short and clear
Help people know what's relevant to them
Summaries help convey further detail

11. Effective headlines
Present tense
Succinct
Informative, detailing the who and what
Direct and to the point
Statements, not questions

13. Images
Attract interest and conveying meaning
Format images so they look consistent and pleasing
alongside your content
Choose your file-type and file-size carefully, to make
sure the image loads quickly
Put the image on the right-side of the content, unless
the image is the main focus

14. Images
Crop photos to focus on people or relevant detail
Use photographs taken inside the organisation or by colleagues
Avoid clip-art
Permission from the owner, and preferably from anyone shown
Use fresh images
.jpg / .png
Alt text

18. Links
Embed links in meaningful text within your sentences
Let people know if you're linking to a file
Read navigation design using card sorting [PDF; 425KB] learn
how to use simple cards to define your menus.
Never say 'click here'

19. Links for navigation
Avoid using the term ‘Quick links’
Avoid ordering items by ‘importance’
Avoid alphabetising a long list of links
Group lists of links by function

21. Layout
Structure articles for
scanability
Opening paragraph should
communicate the most
important facts
Use sub-headings
throughout the article
Respect that many people
will not read the full article

22. Layout
F-pattern
Left
Right

23. Layout
In-page menu links (for long pages) – a topic menu at the top
that links to content further down
Lots of sub-headings to break up the content and define
topics
In-page links to return readers to the top of the page
Bullet points – people love the simplicity and richness
Multiple paragraphs
Short sentences, in the active voice

25. Search
How to help people search for, and find, your content
Different people use different terms and names for the
same things
Clear, sensible headlines and factual summaries help
people find content through the search engine
Links from other pages to your content are invaluable

26. Search checklist
Clear, plain headings that express the subject matter succinctly
Repeat keywords relating to the subject in sub-headings and the body of the
article
Use alternative keywords, nouns and common terms
Label your content using appropriate tags and / or meta-data
Write a clear opening paragraph to explicitly summarise the content of your
article
Ask for links to your new page from owners of related pages around the intranet
Publish your page in the appropriate section / area of the intranet, following the
expectations of audience members (not simply in ‘your’ section)

28. Writing
Write for your audience, not for your boss
Get the formality level right for your culture and the
topic
Use short, simple sentences — be clear and direct
Avoid humour, metaphors, acronyms and jargon unless
you know your audience very well
But, if you can tell a good story, don’t worry too much

29. Text
The equation for good comms
http://d.pr/hrV5

31. Documents vs. pages
Governance / guidance: when to use PDF, Word, and
other formats
Use intranet pages rather than Office documents unless
there's a specific reason not to
Consider replacing policies and guides in PDF with a
collection of intranet pages
If linking to a PDF or Office file, let people know
explicitly [Word; 300KB]

32. Documents vs. pages
People prefer single-topic short
pages that link to each other,
except when an ‘official
procedure’ Word document can
be presented as a long web page
instead.
Such ‘official documents’ (like
procedures, work instructions and
policies) could be one
comprehensive page, or
published in sections over several
intranet pages.

34. Engagement
Write to start a conversation
Some content serves its purpose merely by being read,
other content is only truly valuable if people engage
with it in more active ways
Comments, social sharing and the creation of new
observations and ideas can unlock the knowledge
within your organisation
An informal tone can encourage feedback

35. Engagement
Share progress, not just results
Share ideas, not just decisions
Blogs
Discussion forums
ESN

37. Channels
The intranet is not an
amorphous channel —
it’s a city of sectors,
communities, highways
and byways. We should
diversify our comms and
stop simply publishing a
single news story.
http://d.pr/AIYc
Photo: Jaakko Hakulinen

38. Channels
Don't only rely on the
home page to get your
content noticed
Use different areas of the
intranet in different ways
Actively engage
audiences by using the
channels they already
use
Photo: Alex Brown

40. Creating
intranet content
Effective headlines
Images
Links
Layout
Search
Writing
Documents vs pages
Engagement
Channels
Mobile
http://d.pr/dlJX

42. Text
@Wedge —
kilobox.net/3597
Thank you - Interaction, October 2014