A survey by Nancy E. Schwartz published on the Getting Attention blog highlights the difficulties not-for-profit organisations have in communicating their messages. 84% of the organisations surveyed said that their messages connected with their key audiences only somewhat or not at all, in spite of much hard work.
They reported that their messaging suffers from lack of inspiration (73%), poor targeting to audience wants and needs (70%), and difficult to remember (86%).
Among the underlying factors are a lack of clear organisational direction and goals, and a lack of consistency across platforms.
Lessons for your website
Your website is a powerful messaging tool for your audiences, so what lessons can we learn from these results?
- Starting from your organisational goals (and getting those clear in the first place) is key.
- Your site has to be targeted at your audience's needs. Defining the people who will come to your site, and identifying what they need, want and expect to find there will help you to a much more effective web presence.
- How quickly can someone work out your main message when they first come to your website? Try a test: sit someone who hasn't seen your site before down in front of it, and ask them to tell you as quickly as possible what they think your organisation is about. If the result isn't forthcoming in about two seconds, or it doesn't match you message, then there's work to be done.
