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By Estelle Metayer, Managing Editor, Competia.com 

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Forget for a minute the usual communication tools such as email or memos, and consider more creative media. You'll surprise your users, and they will remember you and your Intranet site.

Remember you want to communicate, but you also want to capture people's share of mind.

These are some examples:

Choose a simple address: If your Web address is http://intranet.aa/marketingdepartment/competitorprofile/current, users will not easily remember it. Chose instead http://marketing

Select existing media: No need really to reinvent the wheel. Use the existing internal newsletter, or communication board

Add to internal memos:At the bottom of your memos, indicate the address of the site as a signature

Posters: Attract attention with humorous posters placed in key places in the company

Icon on main Intranet page, Links everywhere: This uses the same technique as the newspaper USA Today. nobody ever buys it, but everyone reads it as it is distributed in most hotels in North America at no cost. Make sure your site is visible, mention it in lots of different situations and places

Icon on desktop: Install the shortcut to your site on key users' desktops. This way, they won't have to remember the address

Change default address: Make sure key users access your page when they open their browser. Do this by changing the default option on their browser so that your home page becomes the default page

In "start" menu: Add your site to the start menu in the computer (can be rolled-out throughout the company by your IT people)

In emails: Add the site address at the bottom of all emails you send

In templates (letter, fax, etc.) : Same as for the email

Anonymous suggestion box: Use a box on the corporate Intranet to gather comments

Training by department: This allows people to ask questions

Ad-hoc training: One-on-one training will help you build rapport with your users. Very effective

Systematic reference to the tool : As soon as a question is asked, show people where to find the answer on your Intranet instead of just giving them the answer

Message when new section: Announce new sections. People don't always have time to keep track

Training for new employees: Incorporate a short training about the tool in new employees programs (5-10 minutes is usually enough)

Anecdotes: Use anecdotes to explain how your site has been used

Broadcast statistics: When you have statistics, use them to communicate about the tool: "This month, we reached our one-millionth user..."

Broadcast new champions: When new people come on board to help you maintain the content of the site, announce it!

Intranet fair: Set-up a computer in a place that gets a lot of traffic ( for example the cafeteria at lunch time) to demonstrate your "product" and show pemployees how to access your site

Wine and cheese: If you organize a meeting about your site, make it more informal. It will help people relax and ask questions. A few variations to wine and cheese: pizza and beer, or muffins and coffee

Costs and benefits analysis: You will build credibility if you can show you track costs and benefits of the system. It is often hard to do at first, but after six months or a year, you can start communicating about it

To obtain a copy of these communication tips in PowerPoint, please send a message to intranetpresentation@competia.com

 

Prepare your message well

These are the sections that should be included in all your presentations. Apply your good judgement to know how much emphasis you should put on each section.

What are the objectives of your Intranet site? For example, "Objectives dictated by management having identified the need to understand the business environment."

What content ? For example: "This site will first give employees access to current news, relevant statistics and key customer profiles. In the months ahead, the content will expand to include information, or links to relevant content already on the Intranet, about the business environment (deregulation, public policies) , markets, competitors, suppliers, partners and competitive technologies (fuel, gas)."

Which users ? For example: "Originally designed for senior management to support strategic initiatives, we have decided to open this site to all employees."

What timing ? For example, "The prototype will be launched by March 15th with the first three categories. After testing, we'll expect a decision to roll-out by mid-April at which point the remaining categories will be rolled-out." (For management presentation only)

Which resources are needed ? For example: "No major capital expenditures are required. We've decided to have a decentralized intelligence function. And the core team to be an integrator. Therefore, to keep it current, the site will require individual efforts (2-3 hours a week) of work by a number of champions throughout the company."

What are the next steps ? For example: "We will be putting in place a password protected access to topic of more sensitive nature . Site will evolve as required. We will demonstrate the working prototype to you by March 15th. "

 

Conclusion

When preparing your communication plan, analyze your audience, prepare the media and plan your message well. There are no limits to how you can promote your site. In fact, if you observe the Internet world, lots of the techniques applied in the outside world could probably be used internally.