It's 2016 - Make Your Website Great Again

As the Internet is more than 20 years old now, we’ve long passed the peak of the World Wide Web gold rush of the late 1990s.

Back then, every business suddenly found itself needing a URL and website to take advantage of the shift toward digital media.

By 2004, websites had taken another quantum leap forward with the beginning of “Web 2.0” – the term given for the evolution of sites from just online bulletin boards to two-way communications and e-commerce platforms. For the first time, companies could communicate with consumers, and consumers, by posting comments to corporate websites or social media sites, could provide companies feedback in real-time.

That was also the year that presidential candidate Gov. Howard Dean (D-Vt.) broke the traditional political fundraising model by raising the bulk of his primary funds from online donations. Today, that level of small-donation grassroots fundraising is commonplace, but then, it was ground-breaking.

Fast forward to today, and enterprising high schoolers can stand up a decent-looking website with ease with just a few hours of work. Thanks to platforms like WordPress, Squarespace and Wix, one need not have a knowledge of HTML to code a basic, good-looking site.

And yet it is this very proliferation of cheap platforms and standardized templates that is fueling the demand for professional web design services provided by multi-service firms like ours.

Why?

Launching a basic, functional site is so easy that there is now a huge gulf between amateur and professional sites. Companies that hire professional editorial and design services stand out from the crowd.

Throughout our existence, Dale Curtis Communications has helped create and develop many websites, and demand has been strong in 2015-2016.

We are proud to have been involved with the planning, content, design and/or implementation of the following sites (plus several more we aren’t allowed to advertise):

Thank You 9-1-1 (http://thankyou911.org)

Friends of 9-1-1 (http://www.friendsof911.org)

Run for 9-1-1 (http://www.runfor911.org)

SRT Wireless (http://www.srtwireless.net)

SRT Group (http://www.srtgrp.com)

IPC – Association Connecting Electronics Industries’ Political Action Committee (https://www.epacmanager.com/pass_sol/sol_ipcpac/frmLO.aspx)

In addition, we are currently working with two clients to revamp their websites, both of which are scheduled to be unveiled later this summer.

But we would be remiss if we did not mention another recently refreshed site of which we are proud: DaleCurtisCommunications.com. It’s hard to believe it’s been a year since we launched it.

The so-called “parallax” template that we adopted is trendy among modern websites, but it’s popular for a reason. With its simplicity, priority on images over text, and inherently responsive mobile-friendly design, it is a far cry from the first WordPress “bulletin board” or “digital magazine” sites of even five years ago. Websites today need to be “mobile first,” visually beautiful, and extremely intuitive to navigate.

As you review your marketing materials, I encourage you to cast a critical eye on your website – your brand’s primary digital calling card. Considering all of the communications vehicles you invest in, ultimately more people will experience your brand through your website than through any other vehicle.

If you feel your site needs some work, please contact us to schedule a free consultation. We have a team of talented, experienced website developers and graphic designers ready to assist you.

We’re proud of our recent website design work and have some very happy clients as a result of it.

Chavez Schools’ 5th Annual Public Policy Symposium

"Residential segregation. The Syrian refugee crisis. College access for illegal immigrants. There are not just policy challenges hotly debated among national leaders in Washington, D.C. -- at Cesar Chavez Public Charter Schools, they are thesis projects that senior high school students present to educational leaders, including Obama administration staff." - Emily Leayman, Watchdog.org

From Left to Right: Senior Alexys Hewlett, Chavez CEO Joan Massey, Senior Nicolas Villaroel, and Senior Brenda Guevera-Ortiz

DCC was proud to attend Chavez’s 5th Annual Public Policy Symposium at Georgetown University recently. A day that Chavez CEO Joan Massey has declared her “favorite day of the year,” Symposium gives three top seniors at Chavez Schools the opportunity to present their public policy theses to an audience of education and community leaders. The thesis presentations were thoughtful, well-researched, and very impressive. There is no doubt that these students have bright futures ahead!

This year, we were thrilled to see Symposium receive well-deserved media attention. Check out the stories below!

“Chavez seniors not only research specific policies, they pinpoint weaknesses and propose alternatives. ‘I’ve never done anything like that,’ said Hewlett, who presented on how residential segregation hurts minorities. ‘I know my friends at other high schools don’t get to do stuff like that.’” –“D.C. charter school seniors join national policy conversation,” by Emily Leayman, Watchdog.org

“These were not superficial conversations about current day controversies.  They were three sophisticated in-depth investigations of serious world problems whose solutions have major consequences.  So much progress has been made at Chavez PCS over last two decades.  It was enough to make you cry.” –“The Chavez PCS 5th Annual Public Policy Symposium,” by Mark Lerner for his blog, “Parents Have School Choice Kids Win”

“‘We hear our students say how they were so nervous about their thesis, but now that it's over it is one of the best things they've ever done,’ [CEO Joan] Massey said. ‘It not only prepares them for college, but life after. They walk away knowing they are ready for the next level,’ she said.” –“Chavez PCS Holds Public Policy Symposium” by Sarafina Wright, The Washington Informer

Congratulations to Chavez on another successful year of Symposium presentations. We already can’t wait for next year!

Blurred Lines: How is the Public Relations Industry Reinventing Itself?

Recently, I attended a Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) event that examined the shifts that have taken place in the public relations industry and how PR professionals are adjusting.

The panel featured PR pros:

• Soren Dayton, Senior Vice President, Digital Advocacy, H+K Strategies;
• Sara Wiskerchen, Managing Director, Media Communications, National Association of Relators; and
• Beth Perell, Vice President of Communications and Information Management, Goodwill Industries.

Each panelist offered a different perspective on the ever-changing landscape of the public relations industry but agreed that we must embrace the transformation to succeed.

For at least the last five years, we’ve all known that the emergence of new technologies and the popularity of social media would change our industry dramatically.

For instance, social media has allowed PR professionals to interact with journalists and audiences in ways that were never available before.

"It's easier than ever to connect with journalists via social media -- following their blogs, re-tweeting and tagging them,” said Sara Wiskerchen. “And journalists today are responsible for promoting their stories over social media as well as writing them -- so helping them publicize their stories builds relationships in a natural, organic fashion."

In some ways, being able to pitch a story through Twitter makes the job simpler, but it does not take away from the traditional technique of picking up the phone and building relationships.

Here are five tips from the experts to remaining relevant in today’s PR industry:

1.)   Keep it short and skimmable

Now more than ever, consumers are interested in receiving information quickly and conveniently. If you want to get a point across, be sure to keep it concise and catchy, and always include the most important assertions and facts near the top.

2.)   Be visual

Since most customers access content via the internet and mobile devices, videos, infographics and photos help get a point across quickly while increasing consumer engagement.

For instance:

• Content with relevant images receive 94% more views than content without. (source)
• 51.9% of marketing professionals worldwide name video as the type of content with the best ROI. (source)

3.)   Writing still matters, but distribution has changed

Digital modes of communication have not replaced the need for PR pros to be impeccable writers. However, the new emphasis is on where that written content appears.

“Success is increasingly being defined as results across platforms,” said Wiskerchen. “And lots of platforms are hungry for fresh contributed content. Nerd Wallet, Business Insider, Medium – all of these need eyeballs that our content (and audience) can help provide.”

4.)   Paid media is on the rise

The debate over paid vs. earned media continues. There is a sense of gratification from placing an article or op-ed in a media outlet without paying for it. But it is becoming increasingly popular to pay outlets to run your content on a regular basis, which guarantees an audience will consistently see your brand.

According to eMarketer, paid social media spending in the U.S. and Canada was projected to rise by 31 percent last year and surpass $10 billion for the first time.

On the rise in paid media, “It’s happening. It’s real. It’s the future. And it’s only going to get worse,” said Perell. Further, most customers cannot distinguish between paid/branded media (such as pieces posted to Fortune’s (paid) “Voices” or Crain’s Chicago’s “On the Move” features) or earned media (such as pieces pitched to and placed in outlets like Forbes or The New York Times).

5.)   Refresh your digital skills

Employees that understand how to build a website, record and edit video, as well as engage an audience on social media are becoming more sought out than ever before. Though easier said than done, it’s important to stay abreast with the new technologies and techniques to remain relevant in this industry.

"Putting out a press release is now only 15% of the journey,” said Dayton. “Then our team creates an infographic to send to journalists along with it, then we blog about the news, then we Tweet about it."

Further emphasizing the increasing role of digital in communications, Dayton argued that digital public relations campaigns are supplanting traditional lobbying.

“Lobbying doesn't matter the way it once did in terms of access to legislators. The emphasis now is on coalition-building via a digital campaign. Done right, a new digital microsite can generate 10,000 emails to a targeted member of Congress very cheaply and quickly – something that was unthinkable just 10 years ago.”