Arthur W. Page Society Website
Some adages will always remain true…If you’re going to talk the “Talk,” you have to walk the “Walk.” For the Arthur W. Page Society, an elite group of only the best and most prestigious C-Level Marketing and Corporate Communications executives, they know this all too well.
In today’s multimedia, information-devouring age, your online presence needs to be a constant stream of timely, valuable data for its users in order for it be worthwhile and effective. When the Arthur W. Page Society came to RD2 (thanks to Tim Roberts at Wieck Media), their online presence was facing the same predicament that most businesses face today when they have not yet crossed the digital divide of conversation media. The previous website featured lots of great “Talk,” but we felt they deserved to walk with a little more of a swagger. Taking into account not only the massive amounts of information that had to be transitioned and updated, but also the over 400+ users that are currently registered on the site, RD2 set out to create a new online community that would reflect the forward-thinking and content-rich nature of the foundation and its members.
The website, which features the Society’s clean and minimal design aesthetic, boasts new functionality that updates the Arthur Page Society into Web 2.0. Built on a WordPress foundation, RD2 has once again pushed what is normally thought of as a “blog only” content management platform to new heights and unprecedented territory. The site’s most quietly fantastic new feature is its robust syndication functionality. Almost every section of the site is now available on an RSS feed that enables users to get hooked into content for the whole site, or just select sections, receiving information as soon as it’s published. This new feature makes what was once static content, upwards of 80% of the old site, alive and readily digestible.
In addition to helping all the great content become more accessible, RD2 took a hard, long look at the website’s other, most prominently used features – the Members Only Section and the Member Directory. The Member Directory section of the site represented the number one reason for most users to visit the website and log in. However, this section suffered in the area of user experience and needed some love like adding more modern methods of displaying and sharing contact information. Additionally, they wanted to rethink the log-in process in a way that greets members with a more usable User Dashboard . Now, not only does the User Dashboard keep them updated on the Society news, it also integrates a site-wide feed with information about profile updates, upcoming events, new press releases, even comments from their peers on blog posts. The Member Directory revamp include a new badge system, Ajax sorting features, and advanced filtering systems to help users find information quickly. Profile update options now include the ability to add an ever-growing list of social media properties, making sure the Member Directory is ready to move into the next wave of social connectivity.
In order to engage the great resources that so many of their members have at their disposal, RD2 collaborated with the Arthur W. Page Society to create a new “Member Insights” section. Fed by users, this new means of interacting and sharing is planned to quickly grow to include not only books, web links, and white papers, but also insightful movies, pictures, even presentations and audio files. By giving users the ability to openly contribute, the site can now become a repository for knowledge and conversations for and from its members.
With this new launch, the Arthur W. Page society not only is walking the “Walk,” they are dancing up a media storm and rejoicing in an overwhelming chorus of user conversation.
