Announcement Listing Tips

An Announcement is a short statement that brings important information to the attention of the public.
Here are some suggested announcements topics to include:

• Significant Calendar Events (just a snippet of information pointing users to expanded events on your website events page)
• Awards, recognition, in‐the‐news, and accomplishments
• Cancellations/Postponements
  • Meetings/Events
  • School Related
    • Schools Closed/Late
    • School Plays/Fundraisers
• Construction Updates

The Goal Is To Entice Your Viewer To Click Through Your Website

The Announcements feature is an amazing tool, if used correctly. Announcements should be short, increasing the likelihood that users will read them all. The purpose of a short announcement is often to give the web user a reason to read on – it should hook them to look further into the website. By prompting a web user to continue surfing your website, you will further educate them on your organization and community events. For example:

• Have you just added a new document to your website? If so, announce the new posting and direct the user to the documents page.
• Is there a big event coming up that your organization is hosting? Give the viewers a brief description and point them to the calendar for more details.
• Did your organization win the 2009 Small Business Award? Let everyone know.

Attract Return Viewers

The Announcement feature should be updated on a regular basis, sometimes daily. If web users know
that your announcements are always fresh and provide helpful information, they will likely begin using
your site as their go‐to‐source for information, drawing them back to your website again and again.