"We should do a video." "We need more photos with this article." "The site is sparse; we should add a few more pages." How many times have we heard such suggestions? Well-meaning, surely, but not necessarily in the best interest of our goals or our users' needs. If you think about it, it's kind of like saying, "We need more hamburgers" without considering whether our audience is hungry or thirsty, let alone whether or not they're … [Read more...]
Visualizing Content: Using Infographics For Clear Communication
May 23, 2011 by
If you follow the web marketing world, you’ve likely seen an increasing number of infographics linked around. They’ve become a very hip content type: vertical images jam-packed with iconography and statistics explaining anything from the growth of mobile to storytelling to, well, infographics. Forget viral videos -- we need a viral infographic! Closely tied to the rise of infographics is the prevalence of data visualization, as we become more … [Read more...]
This Must Be the Place
May 20, 2011 by
Location-based services (LBS), writes Leen Jones, offer a powerful way to take our content marketing on the road, engaging users with content that is relevant to their physical location. Rick wrote last month about the importance of planning for the context in which content is consumed, and LBS is a prime example. She cites North Carolina State University's customized location-based service On Campus as an example of this, helping members of the … [Read more...]
Live Content on a Low Budget
May 18, 2011 by
If there's one thing common to college campuses, it's events. We all have speakers, performances, panel discussions, cultural showcases, exhibits and other happenings scheduled weekly. We also have the events you can’t predict, whether it’s an unannounced visit by a local politician, a group discussion convened in reaction to a breaking news story or a spontaneous student gathering. While there are lots of ways we can report on an event, how … [Read more...]
Seeing is Believing
May 17, 2011 by
"Show, don't tell" is a tried and true adage for storytelling. But as UK video journalist Adam Westbrook points out, many stories that purport to be visual "[let] the words lead the way, dragging pictures along behind them." Westbrook challenges us to explore truly visual storytelling, where words are not required to understand the message being conveyed. He offers us some tips on how to accomplish this. There are a huge number of tools we can … [Read more...]