As a person in public relations in the modern era...it is fundamental now-a-days to have your own media sites. But just having a website isn't going to cut it. It has to be good, attractive, and appealing to the right audiences. But what does a successful PR website look like?
Utilizing one of my go-to AI websites, I asked ChatGPT to curate me a list of some of the most successful PR websites. From there, I took each website, gave them a look-see, and decided for myself what made each website so successful. Here are a few pointers from each website, starting with the list and information provided.
"Edelman (www.edelman.com): Edelman is one of the largest PR firms globally, known for its comprehensive and informative website that showcases their expertise, case studies, and thought leadership.
Burson Cohn & Wolfe (BCW) (www.bcw-global.com): BCW's website emphasizes their global reach and diverse client portfolio, with clear sections for news, insights, and services.
Ketchum (www.ketchum.com): Ketchum's website is user-friendly and highlights their strategic communications services, client success stories, and industry perspectives.
FleishmanHillard (fleishmanhillard.com): FleishmanHillard's website is designed to showcase their integrated approach to PR and communications, with detailed sections on their services and expertise.
Ogilvy PR (www.ogilvy.com/pr): Ogilvy's PR division has a website that combines sleek design with in-depth insights into their campaigns, services, and global network.
WE Communications (www.we-worldwide.com): WE Communications' website features a modern design with a focus on their integrated communications services, case studies, and industry expertise.
Weber Shandwick (www.webershandwick.com): Weber Shandwick's website is known for its intuitive navigation and extensive content on their services, thought leadership articles, and global reach." (list provided for by ChatGPT)
Key Points (of my own personal opinion) of What Drives for Success in These Websites:
Clear and simple navigation when it comes to their "about" "work" and "contact" sections of their website. Formatting is in very simple, large and clear letters.
Utilizing the right fonts and colors that fit with their brand.
*Choosing a color scheme or font that is displeasing to the eye will more likely have viewers choose to disengage with your content, even if your work is good. So make sure to have some aesthetic harmony along with your work.
Mission Statement. The mission statement being at the forefront of the website, while being made clear and simple is definitely a useful hook for target audiences.
Work Examples paired with visuals. If you have worked with a well-known brand, for example, Ketchum, seeing work examples with the brand logo helps to make a deep impression as well as adds reliability and persuasion.
Case Studies. For example, Fleishmanhillard, although you could not see what the company was about (*which is a big NO for me) or even any other tabs or links to redirect you to further information on their website, they made their homepage a forefront about some of their key case studies. This in itself can be useful as they just get straight to the point on what cases they have worked with and what went wrong, with most importantly, what went well. Simple, yet effective. Having your most important work and purpose main and center. But please, make sure to at least have some easy access or visibility towards further information about your brand...I mean, at least the basics.
Recommendations
Aside from the keypoints, here are my recommendations for a good website. If you're looking for perfection (something more than just decent), hire an expert on website design (def recommended), but I think that if your work speaks for itself, than you can settle for good. Here are some key points to look out for when creating a website with the essentials:
An "About" section: What is your brand about, who are you, how did you get started?
Mission Statement: What drives you? What is your main (consistent) goal when it comes to every job?
Contact: THE MOST IMPORTANT !!! - If anyone wants to contact you, in order to work or connect with you, you have to make it clear where they can do so or how to find you. You don't need to get personal with your information, but you don't have to make it hard either. I find creating a contact section or creating a business email to help. Business socials as well, such as LinkedIn, work for me, as I also do social media work for my own personal PR brand.
Work examples: Now you can make this part look any way you want, however, I like to use my website as an overall resume (or portfolio, in other words). You can talk about your experiences in a way that can be a little more in depth (or creative) than your typical resume. Please don't make this difficult, where if a potential client wants to see your work experience, they have to download anything (unless it's worth it). Make it ready to read; just allow people to see what you have with it's own page on your website. Putting people through the extra hassle to find out more about you (without prior knowledge of you) will drive them away. Make it easy. Keep them interested. This can also include pictures, videos (all with descriptions)...whatever you want to do. But make it simple for them to see your resume, so they know what they're working with and what experience they can expect. This is the best help for both you and the client.
Everything mentioned above is what will make for a good public relations website; anything else is just extra work(but can be useful and even wonderful). To get the best reach and interest in your target audience (potential clients, then connections), these main points should be essential to what make a successful PR website.
Comments