This article is excerpted from the report on PR on Websites. (The full report is available as a free download.)
See also: summary of this research on how journalists use PR sites.
Journalists stressed the importance of having good corporate websites. They were also quick to point out that they have many other sources and methods for researching their stories. And even when testing the sites in our study, at some point in every session, each journalist said they would call the company, specifically the PR department, either to get information they could not find on the website or to confirm information they did find.
- “I would always call to get a live person. With e-mail, some people don’t read it immediately.”
At least once in every session, journalists either left sites, or said they wanted to leave them, when they couldn’t find information or they got frustrated with the interface.
At least once in every session, journalists left the company’s website and turned to another Web source (usually a search engine; sometimes another newspaper or magazine) to find information about a company. Journalists always plan to leave your site to do some research about your company. They need outside sources. The more you can direct them to those sources, such as news articles, the better.
- “I’d have to look at different sources. For example, there are sources for students that tell what companies not to join or do business with because they are not socially responsible...”
- “There is no substitute for talking to people. Talk to market analysts and fund people. Two reasons: one, fully up to date, and two, they have already done expert analysis. ... I think the idea that someone is going to go to a company’s website and write an article sounds kind of unlikely.”
- “The only thing about doing research on the website is at some point I will want to look for the contrary point. I don’t expect to find that information on the website. As a journalist, I will want to go to another place to get that contrary position.”
- “It’s often best to get the information from other places besides the company you are looking for.”
- “I look for reviews of the products. Follow the links to magazines then start. I expect the magazine to have other reviews of this or similar products ... news about the company.”
The following table describes when journalists left individual sites in our various rounds of user testing or said that they wanted to leave a site.
| Website | Reason Journalist Left the Site |
|---|---|
| Benetton | Financials “This wasn’t the easiest in the world but it wasn’t hard. Also, I’d go to financial sites now, too.” Beginning Wanted other reviews, and was annoyed by: the Flash intro, superfluous information, page layout, strange scroll UI for press releases. Went to Google. View Product (Fall Collection) |
| BMW | Financials “This kind of hunt and peck thing is what I don’t like and what keeps me off the Internet. I think it’s a quick thing and then it makes me waste half an hour. Half the time I will just pick up the phone and ask them to call me. I would ask them to mail it to me. I’d rather wait two weeks than spend half an hour here.” Laughed. Movie file crashed user’s computer: “I am so out of there. I pick up the phone and I call them and ask for a 1999 annual report. I get too irritated.” Could not find information: “I am already aggravated with this website because I cannot find what I want. I would leave this website.” Went to LexisNexis. Finding What BMW Stands For PR Contact Information about Management |
| Fidelity | Financials Could not find financials on the site, and said he would trust an outside source more. “I would go back to my Yahoo page and get the financial info there. ... I would also rather get figures from a third party rather than the company itself. A lot of the companies tend to write up these press releases that are uhm... the number will be there, but you’ll have to dig.” Also could not find financials: “I’ve been browsing the site for 40 minutes now. I would call them and have them fax more or at least tell me where I can find the info on the website. I’m not very patient.” Press Contact Telephone Wanted Links To Organizations They Donate To Information about Management |
| Merck | Other Stories about Managers Went to Dow Jones Interactive to see if it had other information, find out whether a story had been done recently. Press Contact Financials |
| Nokia | Product Information Found some information and was ready to call and follow-up. “I think I would be more inclined to call their PR person and flesh this out. It’s a decent place to start, but I need more.” Got a little information on Nokia, and wanted more. Went to Google. Financials Discovered that financials are in euro dollars. Went to site to convert to U.S. dollars. “It would piss me off that I had to go convert it. I’d think most places would show in both euro and U.S. dollars.” To See What Analysts Say about Them/Social-Awareness Information |
| Philip Morris | Financials Was frustrated when he couldn’t download the PDF annual report. “That’s annoying. The whole PDF thing. I don’t have a reader. I don’t know where it’s downloading this. If we were doing this, I wouldn’t go on.” Press Contact |
| SeeItFirst | Financials Wanted outside sources of information. “Now I would look for something by a business journal about them, like one of the business trades or something.” News |
| Tellme | Social Responsibility Was going to call a PR contact initially. Went to Google when she couldn’t find the information on the site. Find Competitors Financials |
| US Patent and Trademark Office | Starting Out “First reaction: useless. The amount of information on the page is overwhelming. I would call them.” How to File a Patent and Costs Looked on the FAQ page, where there was a lot of text that was not bolded or easy to scan. “I see nothing here. I’m gone. The questions assume I already have an application submitted. I would try Google again.” He searched and ended up back on the site at “Who May Apply for a Patent.” Went to Yahoo and searched for an intellectual property law firm. Budget Information Lost any hope for finding anything on the site. “I really like using askjeeves.com for really specific questions.” Went to Ask Jeeves and typed “What is the budget of the U.S. patent office?” Information About the Director Contact Information |
| Wal-Mart | Press Contact Could not find press telephone number. “What I would do is take that 501 area code then call information then get a main number. Then get the press department.” Management Information |
| Website | Reason Journalist Left the Site |
|---|---|
| Deutsche Bank | Management Information Was going to call the PR contact when she couldn’t find the name of the chief executive. Went to Google to find the name of the chief executive. Expert Opinion |
| GlaxoSmithKline | Financials PR person for income. |
| Hemscott | Management Information Could not find information about management. Went to Google and typed in the CEO’s name. Financials |
| Pace Micro Technology | Background Information When initially looking for background information, would look at Google and Yahoo, or LexisNexis. Wanted to find newspaper articles about the company. Called a PR person for background information about what they do. Not getting enough specific information there, so tried the search engines. Financial information Social Responsibility |
| Qwest Communications | Background Information When initially looking for background information, would e-mail the PR contact to get some basic background. Financials |
| State of Maine | Background Information When initially looking for background information, would e-mail the PR contact to get some basic background. Expert Opinion |
| Tyco (focus on Tyco Electronics) | Financials Couldn’t find the 2001 earnings and wanted to call the PR contact to get them. Once financials were found, was still not sure about them, so wanted to confirm with a PR person. Management Information Went to Google to find the name of the former CEO. Went to BBC to find the name of the former CEO. Went to BBC to find information about the scandal. Social Responsibility Couldn’t find it on the site, so went to The Guardian. |
| Vivendi Universal | Information about selling assets To find an unbiased view of the situation, went to Financial Times website. Social Responsibility |
| Website | Reason Journalist Left the Site |
|---|---|
| Investopedia | First impression Did not appear reputable. Too much advertising. Could not find an “About Us” section. |
| Latin American Travel Association | Personal information Required registration and payment to get information. |
| Continental | Another website Could not find the number of employees. Thinks finding it on Hoover’s website would be easier. |
| Hilton | Stale content Press releases not current enough. |
| Esprit | Another website Thinks it’s easier to find financial information on a financial website, such as Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited. |
| MTV | Search Didn’t see a way to search site. About Us |
An important lesson to keep in mind is that even when journalists used independent search engines, users still blamed the company when they had problems finding information. When users searched elsewhere and could not find the information, they sometimes returned the company site and complained passionately about it. All the frustration they encountered, even on other sites, was directed at the company site.
Users abandon sites when they do not find what they are looking for. If they absolutely need or want the product or service, they call any phone number they find on the site. What’s different about journalists is that they always plan to call your company – they want to talk to a person and confirm facts or get a quote. Knowing this, sites should clearly present the press contact name and phone number.
This article was excerpted from the report on PR on Websites. (The full report is available as a free download.)
See also: summary of this research on how journalists use PR sites.
