Take Control
Matt the Marketer: “We need to update the product details page on our Web
site.”
Greg the Web Developer: “No problem. We’ll put it on our list. We should be
able to get to it in about two weeks.”
Sound familiar? Gone are the days when marketers can sit back and rely on
in-house Web teams or outside agencies every time they want to make site
updates. The speed of information exchange today is instantaneous, and
marketers need to keep pace.
So how does a marketer with little or no Web expertise get a handle on the
company Web site? More and more, smart marketers are moving to a content
management system (CMS) to get control of their corporate online presence. A
properly executed CMS allows marketers to make updates as often as they want –
no technical knowledge required. And of course, a CMS can also ensure that the
site maintains a consistent brand look.
What Is CMS?
A good CMS includes all the necessary tools to add, edit and delete content
from your Web site in a familiar Microsoft Word-like interface. Regardless of
experience level, the site administrator should be able to effectively manage
the Web site without worrying about inconsistent style or unexpected font
changes. It’s a fail-safe way to keep your company’s Web site current and
compelling.
Interactive Features
Brady Communications’ custom-developed CMS includes many collaborative features
that improve not just the administrator’s task, but also the end-user’s
experience. These features can also help provide some insight about site
visitors. With an article rating system, users rate the quality of the Web
site’s content. The results reveal what users find interesting and what they
consider irrelevant or unimportant. Users enjoy sharing their opinions, and the
resulting knowledge guides administrative decisions about future site content.
Another feature of Brady Communications’ CMS is the interactive poll. Your Web
site can include a polling question for which users choose an answer and are
immediately provided with real-time results. You can change the question
monthly, weekly or as often as you’d like. The poll feature has the potential
for many business-building applications: gain instant user feedback about a new
product or ad campaign, ask questions about your customers’ interests and
priorities, or find out how site visitors view your competition.
CMS Success
Tools like the file manager enable administrators to upload images, PDFs and
word documents when creating a page. Including images like this adds excitement
to the look and feel of the Web site and can provide extra help in getting your
message across clearly.
Tucor, Inc., a
commercial irrigation control systems provider and consultant, chose the Brady
Communications CMS when the company needed a new
Web site. Tucor used the CMS to integrate diagrams, product photos and
an animated video sequence into the new site, all helping to get the company’s
highly technical information across more clearly. But Tucor’s administrators
have control over more than just content. If the site requires privileged
access, the administrator can add or disable users and assign user roles.
Administrative tools also include reviewing capabilities and WYSIWYG (what you
see is what you get) editing, saving time and making errors less likely to
occur.
Style Points
A good CMS should make it easy for marketers to maintain a consistent style
from one Web page to another. Style templates let administrators choose from a
few heading choices and styles, leaving plenty of room for flexibility and
taking the guesswork out of font and color choice. You should also be able to
create multiple image galleries that include captions, thumbnails and larger
images. Image galleries can be very valuable to a brand’s online image: you can
showcase the culture of your company or show off your brand in action at public
or charity events.
First Data Corporation commissioned Brady Communications to provide the CMS
solution for
POSNET, their subsidiary merchant acquiring business that provides
payment processing services to Canadian merchants. The resulting
POSNET site is a great example of how the CMS can help to create a
consistent style throughout a Web site. The color scheme, headings and text
flow from page to page, enhancing users’ ability to navigate the site and
process information.
Your Web Site, Powered by You
A Web site impacts your influence on the market tremendously, and everything
counts – content, style, ease of navigation and your administrative options.
The real advantage of a good CMS is the power it gives back to the business.
You are the expert on your brand, so you should be the authority in making
changes.