UHY Website Content Strategy

Transcription

1 UHY Website Content Strategy

2 Introduction The website is a highly visible part of the UHY brand, and may be the first experience a potential customer has with UHY and its independent member firms. Therefore it is vital to engage with each user, communicate the brand personality, and encourage the user to make contact. The site has been designed in such a way that it is aesthetically engaging, easy to use, reflects the visual brand, and encourages the user to make contact with their local member firm or the firm in their prospective region. The design and functionality is obviously a key element of the website, but the user is there for the content, and it is critical that the same care and attention is given to creating the copy and other assets within the site. This document has been prepared as a guide for administrators responsible for the editing and generation of content across the UHY network and its member firms. 2

3 Brand Personality The website copy should convey the UHY personality. For administrators who may be new to UHY it is recommended that they read the UHY Branding Guidelines, available from the UHY Brand Centre. For those more familiar with UHY, the following brand values are provided as quick refresher: The UHY brand works in harmony with our core values, representing the perception of the network and its member firms: how our network standards, quality control, activities and services provided by member firms are perceived by clients and contacts on the outside. Messaging aimed at a variety of stakeholders in relation to the below listed values, is available from the UHY executive office. Our People Integrity Insight Our Culture Approachable Professional Our Client Care Proactive Innovative Practical Our Local Standing Strong Relationships Reputable 3

4 Brand Personality UHY s value proposition statement: UHY is a worldwide audit, accounting, tax and business advisory network. We help clients successfully do business internationally by bringing together the global expertise of our members, who are all highly regarded, professional and reputable firms in their local markets. Clients expect results and so do we. This commitment is based on members who know each other well and partners who retain close hands-on involvement, together with an ability to offer innovative and practical solutions for clients business issues. In addition, our member firms match approachable and down-to-earth individuals with clients to ensure the right corporate fit. Partners and specialist service teams will go the extra mile to help clients achieve their business goals, realise specific opportunities and effectively manage risks by sharing our knowledge of local regulations, market practice and cultural norms across the globe. Together we build strong relationships based on trust and commercial acumen, so clients can realise maximum value from working with us as we proactively help them achieve success both internationally and in their home markets. 4

5 Client Focussed The focus is the client, not UHY. If the information or content for your website is worth putting on the website it must have relevance to the client and specifically the services offered that can help them. Connect with the user by demonstrating an understanding of their business where possible. In most cases UHY s member firm clients are not accountants, so focus on the advantages that working with UHY and its member firms will bring, rather than the specifics of the service(s) being discussed. A distinction also needs to be made to the fact that UHY member firms are providing services to clients not UHY, the network. UHY should not be presented as a single international entity that provides services for clients. This distinction is important throughout for legal compliance purposes. For example: UHY GVA, a member of UHY, provides tax services for. 5

6 Tone & Language Whilst the target audience is in most cases a welleducated professional, preference should be given to clear and straightforward language over highly technical, industry jargon, or business buzz-words. This reflects the UHY values of approachable and practical partners, and will help international users where the copy is not written in their first language. Where technical terms or industry standard acronyms are used, expand on these fully, taking care not to patronise. Do not use internal UHY specific terms: such as SIG (Special Interest Group), Working Groups, etc. Demonstrate confidence through vocabulary: we provide rather than we advise; and use the present tense rather than future. 6

7 Content Length Studies have shown a user is happy to scroll down the page, provided the content is interesting enough, but as soon as the user scrolls down they start to lose attention. We recommend a word count of between 200 and 300 per page, but the quality of content should not be compromised by either padding the copy to reach this amount, or by stripping out key information to reduce it. 7

8 User Journeys Today s web user does not solely rely on the main navigation to move through a website. Instead they will follow links within copy, promo links, and related links, thus creating a much more personalised experience. Each page should have suggested next steps. For example, when discussing a particular service, provide links that are logical progressions after reading the information. These may be: a case study to demonstrate a successful application of those services an associated service, hinting at the full range of services offered a specific publication focused on an industry or service contact details, enquiry form, or network directory ideally every page should have quick-links/relatedlinks to the most useful action page 8

9 Layout Use paragraphs and sub headings to help users identify relevant content quickly, and deal with just one idea per paragraph. Bullet point and numbered lists are very useful and can convey concise information more efficiently than paragraphs and can help to break up a text heavy layout. Left-align text is easier to read than justified or centred text. Make link text relevant, Audit and assurance case study is much more helpful than click here and also improves Search Engine Optimisation. For example: Audit and assurance case study is preferable to: Click here for the Audit and assurance case study 9

10 Online Assets Online assets include photography, graphics, and documents such as PDFs, videos, Word and PowerPoint files; and their considered use can greatly improve the user experience. Photography can add tangibility to a concept and helps a user see UHY as a professional network, however cheesy stock photography can have the opposite effect, so use with caution. Graphics often explain complicated concepts much more effectively than lines and lines of copy, and also help to break up text into manageable chunks. There is a full suite of graphic iconography available available from the UHY Brand Centre, and when developing your own graphics (including charts and graphs) refer to the UHY branding guidelines and house style guide to maintain a professional visual consistency across the network. Documents such as PDFs are very useful when larger amounts of information are necessary. A PDF can be printed and even when viewed online is a more easily digested format. Again it is important to maintain brand consistency where possible. 10

11 Search Engine Optimisation Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is an important part of content copywriting, but it is more important to write for humans than Search Engines. It s great to have lots of hits on your website, but if the copy doesn t engage the human user then they won t make contact, which is the primary aim of the site. SEO performance can be improved by ensuring key search phrases are included in the page titles, headings, copy, and links, as well as the alt tag for images. 11

12 More Information If you require any further information or clarification, please contact the executive office: UHY International Quadrant House 4 Thomas More Square London E1W 1YW United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0) d.maeremans@uhy.com 12