Managing an FAO country website

1. Managing a Country Website
Anne Aubert, OCCI
Office of Corporate Communications
04 May 2017

2. Did you know?
 FAO has 194 Member Nations plus
one Member Organization, the
European Union and two Associate
Members, The Faroe Islands and
Tokelau.
 FAO is present in 151 countries
through different kinds of offices
and representation arrangements.
80 FAO
Representations
(excluding 13
hosted in Regional
and Subregional
Offices)
72 Country
websites
online
Source: FAO – April 2017

3. Outline
 Learning objectives
 Understanding the importance of managing the content
 Presentation of the template for Country offices
 Corporate guidelines and policies
 Questions and answers

4. Learning objectives
By the end of this webinar, you will be able to:
 Evaluate if you should have (or continue to have) a Country website
 Know which type of content you need to gather
 Understand the principles of web writing
 Understand the template and the sections of a Country website
 Be familiar with FAO guidelines and policies related to online presence
 Review your existing website applying what you learned today

5. Understanding the importance of
managing the content
Section one

6. Purpose of a Country website
1. Communicate about the work of FAO in the Country
2. Address the needs of the target audience

7. Pre-requisites for a Country website
 Content and multimedia resources: this is the most important part!
 Commitment from the FAO Representative and the Country office:
 A website requires efforts to be regularly updated with new content
 FAOR, regular staff and consultants should ensure that the communication person is
informed about the work in the Country
 Communication officer/consultant:
 Responsible for maintaining and updating the website
 Vacant positions should be filled as a priority by the office

8. Basic website requirements
 Content: written for the web AND focused on your
readers
 Consistency: keeping it simple and consistent is one
of the most important basic website requirements
 Branding: compliant with FAO template for countries
and with FAO logo policy

9. Gathering content
 Field projects
 FAO activities in the Country
 FAO campaigns: zero hunger, SDGs, international years (such as pulses,
quinoa), WFD, …
 Events, meetings, workshops
 Videos, photos, audio interviews, …
 New publication

10. Web writing cloud

11. Web writing tips
1. Don't just copy the technical content
One of the most common mistakes is to copy and paste the content from technical documents onto the
website. Writing for the Web needs to be different from writing for print. Translate technical content into clear
messages.
2. Keep your content short and to the point
The attention spans of people these days have become increasingly shorter. The average attention span is only eight
seconds long! You need to short and to the point from the beginning, so make sure you convey the message in your
opening paragraph.
3. Write news and articles in an inverted pyramid style
If you think of your content as a pyramid, the broadest coverage of the topic should be listed first. Then move on to
more and more specific as you get further into the page.
4. Think about your audience
Country websites are mainly targeted to a local audience. Make your content relevant to the country!

12. Web writing tips (continued)
5. Use lists and short paragraphs
Use shorter paragraphs, clear sub headings, lists and bullet points to break up your content. Bullet points are an
easily scannable way to present multiple points, they can help to break up text, so they provide a visual break for
the reader.
6. Use images to expand on your text
Images can be tempting to sprinkle through pages. But having random images spread through your webpages can be
distracting and confusing to your readers. Use images to expand on the text, not just decorate it.
7. Insert links in your content
Identify the topics and keywords for which FAO already has a webpage and insert the link in your text.
8. Don't apply these rules blindly
All of these rules can be broken. Know your audience and know why you're breaking the rule before you do so.

13. Presentation and layout
 Keep the content BALANCED
between right/left columns and main body
 Use good quality photos
 Avoid pages looking too empty
 Be CONSISTENT… and compliant!

14. Keep your content fresh and up-to-date
 Focus on these sections:
 News
 In Depth
 Publications
 Multimedia: videos, photos, …
 Success stories
 Frequency of update:
 Weekly (ideally)
 Monthly (at least)
 Yearly: do you really need a website?

15. When there is no Country website…
You have various ways to promote the information from a Country office:
 Regional Office
 Country Profiles
 In Action section
 FAO homepage
 Social media channels
Liaise with the regional communication officer and with OCC!

16. Presentation of the template for
Country offices
Section two

17. Homepage

18. FAOinthecountry

19. Ourteam

20. Countryataglance

21. Employment

22. ProgrammesandProjects

23. Successstories

24. Projectlist

25. News

26. Resources

27. PhotoGallery

28. OurPartners

29. Remember!

30. Lifetime of your content

31. Corporate guidelines and policies
Section three

32. Social media policy
 FAO maintains official flagship accounts on the most popular and strategic
social media platforms.
 OCC is responsible for maintaining these accounts. No other FAO-affiliated
accounts should be created on these platforms.
 Use of corporate accounts allows us to:
 ensure a strong FAO presence instead of a diluted one
 build a large community of followers
http://www.fao.org/communications/policy/social-media/

33. Corporate Communication policy
and Web guidelines
 FAO’s decentralization strategy aims to improve the effectiveness of the
Organization’s work at the country, sub-regional and regional levels.
 Important to communicate effectively and to put across the messages that
can help the Organization achieve its priorities.
 Web policy and guidelines: ensure that FAO presents itself as One FAO and
consolidate its web presence under FAO.org
 Domain names: it is NOT allowed to purchase them!
 FAO logo: how to use it and download the latest version
http://intranet.fao.org/about_fao/faobrand/

34. FAO Document Repository (FDR)
 All documents and publications produced by FAO are stored in the FDR
 No local uploads are allowed
 Publishing Workflow System (PWS): manages the production of all FAO publications
 Newsletters: communication tool for sending regular updates
 OPTION 1: Use of Adestra for automatic formatted emails
 OPTION 2: PDF newsletters submitted to PWS
http://intranet.fao.org/departments/occ/how_to

35. Contacts
 For Country websites and web related questions:
 For Social media:
 For FAO Document Repository:
 For Webinars:
web@fao.org
document-repository@fao.org
anne.aubert@fao.org / noor.ardianingrum@fao.org
social-media@fao.org

36. Next Webinar: 17 May 2017
“Getting the most out of Typo3 for your Country Website”
Thank you!