Saxum|PR

Brochure Web Sites are Dead – Saxum’s Web Site is Alive.

January 5th, 2010 by Renzi Stone. Posted in News

The year is 2007. Oil topped $150 per barrel, only techies have heard of Twitter and Google was just a search engine beating up Yahoo. Saxum, meanwhile, preached the value of brochure Web sites to all of our small business clients. Programming is for national media, manufacturers and e-commerce, among others. “If you need that, call our partners at Phase 2 ,” we said.

“Stop printing tri-fold brochures,” we pleaded. “What you need is a comprehensive Web presence with your entire brand’s key information.” We tried to give up content management rights, but a lot of people took comfort in having us “handle that stuff.”

Ahh, the good ‘ole days. How quickly things change.

We are announcing today that Saxum launched the new and improved www.saxumpr.com – our fifth version in less than seven years. We have moved platforms to Wordpress. Watch this cool tutorial video about the platform. Also, Wordpress is functional enough to serve as the British Prime Minister’s HOME PAGE! What started as a blogging platform can now serve all our Web needs. We are encouraging clients previously using brochure sites to follow suit.

But Saxum’s new Web site looks similar to your old Web site?

Yes, it does. But it is so much more. Below is a sample of our new online capabilities:

1. Home page blog. The Saxum Perspective Blog, since 2006, been updated more than 100 times by yours truly. We’ve opened the floor up for input from all Saxum team members. Like any good social media team, we have determined our blog will only discuss four topics:  industry expertise, tips and tricks, news and entertainment. A good blog has a thoughtful, aligned and focused voice. We now comply.

2. Twitter feed. In a short period of time, Twitter has become the megaphone for brands promoting messages. Besides our corporate Twitter account, every Saxumite has an account that feeds into our home page “Saxum Tweets” stream. Public relations is a business fueled by real people who have real personalities, and our Web page now highlights the most important part of Saxum – our team.

3. Services. In the early days, it was commonly thought that a Web site was a repository for all information about a company. We agreed, at the time. Today, a Web site must share enough information to be helpful, but the days of detailing all service offerings are over. That’s what Skype calls, phone calls and face-to-face meetings are for. Our services remain tailored, customized and unique to every client.

4. Search. Remember this word: convergence. Just ask the CEO of Google, Eric Schmidt, who recently wrote in the Wall Street Journal about Google being able to find you (yes, actually find you) and understand your likes and dislikes. By cataloging your searches, purchases and social posts, among other things, Google can build a profile predicting your decisions. Why does all this matter? Because Saxum’s new platform is more searchable than ever. If you Google “public relations Oklahoma” you currently get our site right after the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA). We’re not satisfied with number one among competitors on that one search term. We’re building an entire library of searchable terms. Yes, they are scattered throughout this post.

If you aren’t Googlable, then you don’t exist in 2010.

5. Social Profiles. Saxum has adopted a general social media philosophy:
a.     We are not early adopters, we are practical users.
b.     We are all “social media experts.”

Studies show that e-mail is no longer the most popular use on the Internet – now trailing social media communities, search, online software and individual information portals. The Saxum site is a portal into targeted social communities where we have built profiles and shared information about ourselves. They include Twitter , Facebook, LinkedIn, Vimeo, YouTube, Flickr and Delicious.

OK. This is just scratching the surface. We can do all sorts of other cool things too, like update all our own content in seconds. Come back daily. You will always find new content. I promise.