Wedge gave his top tips on writing for intranets as part of SmallWorlders Intranet Engagement Conference

1. Text
Content tactics
executing your strategy on the page
V2.5

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

3. @Wedge — kilobox.net

4. Text
Beyond the technical
Beyond features

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

8. 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

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

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

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

14. 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

15. 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

20. 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'

21. 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

23. 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

24. Layout
F-pattern
Left
Right

25. 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

27. 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 search
Links from other pages to your page are
invaluable

28. 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 summarise the content of your
page
Ask for links to your new page from owners of related pages
Publish your page in the appropriate section / area of the intranet,
following the expectations of the audience (not simply in ‘your’
section)

30. 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

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

33. 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]

34. 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 intranet
page instead.
Such ‘official documents’ (like
procedures, work instructions and
policies) could be one
comprehensive page, or
published in sections over several
pages.

36. 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

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

39. 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

40. 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

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

43. Text
@Wedge —
kilobox.net/3285
Thank you - Smallworlders June 2015