In our last blog post, we looked at the number one way you can get management more involved and engaged in your website, but more importantly in supporting you in the work you do in maintaining the website.
In this blog post we look at the second tactic you have at your disposal – educating them.
Guerilla tactic #2: Educating your management
One of the things about the web that is different to normal corporate business is that sometimes the knowledge of the web and its benefits is inversely proportional to the amount of time spent at the business.
We have often found that it’s the people at the top of the food chain – particularly in government, universities and large corporates – who do not understand the web, its implications or even its potential.
They are still measuring your online presence based on metrics that are so 1995: popularity, visibility or the old-fashioned “do I look good on the page?” Yes, those points are still made.
So in your role, you may need to be educating people above you exactly what you’re doing and how benefits the business, department or organisation. You may need to show them that it is more than just the design, telling them that ‘yes, there are privacy concerns but they are as manageable as any other risks in business’. You may need to educate them that your job is more than just uploading a PDF at 4:45 on Friday afternoon. You may need to teach them that social media is more than just marketing – that it can be a community where you can generate deep loyalty with your customer base.
You may also need to educate them on the wins of your website. We often suggest to clients that they regularly update management on the positives of their website, as sometimes the only information that management gets about the website is when it is broken or not working.
In 2022 this is about engagement and outcome. Look and feel is still an important component, but it’s not the goal. When your audience is viewing your digital footprint on their phone in the ad breaks of the favourite reality TV show, they spend a nanosecond absorbing your design and then they cast it aside while they hunt for the reason they came there in the first place: content.
That’s the most important picture you can paint for your management.
Next time: the third and final guerilla tactic to getting management involved in your website.
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