Showing posts with label about us. Show all posts
Showing posts with label about us. Show all posts

Friday, January 18, 2008

Its not all 'About Us'

This was the title of this blog, before changining to 'Communications in a digital world'. I changed it to be focused less around the needs of the corporate website and more focused toward the extended communication between company and its community.

By this, I mean:
1. A customer (this includes: potential customers, users of web-base resources - such as an application, etc.)
2. A researcher (press, academic, shareholder, investor, etc)
3. An influencer (a member of the extended community who has an opinion on the brand, service or product a company produces, and who submits that opinion into the digital world - e.g. via a blog, a comment, a review, etc.)

Its therefore not just centred on the 'About Us' part of the company website, but about the conversation (or monologue) any person has with a company, and how that company needs to understand, measure and act subsequently.

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Press Pages

Throughout my web development career I've developed numerous sites that have an area called: 'About Us', 'Press', 'Company Information', 'New Releases' and other such titles. These sections of content are mainly run by the PR divison or external communications department. They have historically been a one-way publish method of getting B2C and B2B communications out to your audience. It is written in a professional way and focusing on one particular subject (person, product offering, change in service, etc.)
See Pressbox's guidance on how to do this well:
http://www.pressbox.co.uk/contpr1.htm

Companies want control over their communications. They want the 'official' line to be given how and when they want.

However....

Haven't things changed now?
With the advent of an empowered audience and the ability to place news & opinions in the hands of everyone.... isn't there:
A place for a more social method of communication, even for companies?
A place between the company blog and the press release.
A place to see user feedback and customers thoughts
A place where the official communication can be shared, either with the public or other companes?