Landing page
This page is intended to replace the SharePoint newsfeed page, in that this should be the primary place for most users to interact with the stream. The key capability that the narrow stream provides is tracking of “views”.
A view is logged anytime a user clicks on an item from the narrow stream on the Internal Communications landing page or in lookout, clicking lookout 360 notifications, opening the view link in an email notification, by clicking to expand comments in a community, or clicking on an individual item in the native mobile clients.
The old stream, generally placed on the newsfeed page, does not track views – which is a compelling reason to retire it if it’s currently being used.
There are several options for removing the My Newsfeed links from SharePoint navigation if you should wish to not use it any longer. You can disable the Social Ribbon Control feature or remove them using jQuery.
Each approach has it’s considerations, and this document does not cover them as this is a function of SharePoint. Consult with NewsGator Professional Services to provide recommendations based on your organizations requirements.
Deployment
- Navigate to the site collection where the landing page is deployed.
- Go to Site Settings > Site Collection Features.
- Activate the NewsGator Internal Communications Site Collection Home Page feature.
Activate the NewsGator Internal Communications Site Collection Home Page
The landing page does not show any content in the image carousel web part until images have been uploaded to the picture library (this is provisioned in the root of the site collection as part of this feature activation).
The blog roll-up web part, similarly, requires configuration and content in the respective blogs for it to be visible on the page.
The feature which deploys the landing page automatically sets it as the current site collections landing page. Should this solution be deployed to an existing site collection, you may consider re-setting the previous home page until you are ready to roll it out.
Before activating the feature, make sure to make note of the location of the current home page. You can do so by manually reset the home page by navigating to the old page, clicking the page tab in the ribbon, and clicking the Make Homepage button.
Click page tab
Perform the same operation on the Internal Communications home.aspx page when you’re ready for roll out.
Lastly, multiple versions of the landing page can be deployed in a single environment, which can be useful in geographically dispersed environments.
Managing impact and reach on your posts
Communications managers need to use the tools provided by this solution to help manage the impact and reach of their messaging. While the reach metric is never 100% accurate in terms of passive interaction with stream content, it should be used as a general indicator of impact of corporate messaging. Some notes on best practice on how to leverage the solution:
- The narrow stream truncates a post after ~280 characters. To see the whole message, a user must click on the stream item. To encourage interaction, it may be a good idea to write posts which exceed the character limit. This is given that the content which is displayed, is compelling to the audience.
- Use the view, comment, and like metrics in the administrative console to understand at what times your messages are getting the best reach. Experiment with times just before or after work begins, or right after designated break times (for example, lunch.
- Leverage promoted posts only for critical messaging, and try not to set the expiration time too far from the post date. If promoted posts are used too frequently, employees can become desensitized to their appearance.
- Make your posts relevant. By having specific groups you can target messages to, you increase the ability to provide highly relevant content to your employees. You may want to keep more global messages for the blog and image rotator web parts, and use the Internal Communications Tile for more targeted messaging.
- Links in your post may encourage clickthroughs
The key approach is to experiment and monitor which posts get the most views, likes, and comments. By using the reach metrics provided in this solution, you should be able to get a better understanding of what works for your organization.
Customization
The only element that is fixed on the provided landing page is the narrow stream on the left side of the page. All other content provided is provided by web parts. While NewsGator does provide default web parts, it is entirely customizable (just like any other SharePoint web part page).
The “recommended” web parts are great for initial roll-outs, but may lose their appeal in a more mature environment. With the assistance of NewsGator services, we can provide a thorough recommendation for capabilities that align with your business requirements and needs.
Additionally, the page may be branded in accordance with SharePoint best practices. Web part chrome, the SharePoint ribbon, and other normal branding considerations still apply like any other SharePoint environment. That said, branding is not necessary and the page may be used with the default SharePoint v4.master, for example.
Image carousel web part
When the NewsGator Internal Communications Site Collection Home Page feature is activated, in addition to adding the landing page, an image library is provisioned at the site collection root aptly titled Internal Communications Home Page Carousel Images.
NewsGator recommends using images which are 1000px wide and 350px tall, though any size can work. The key requirement is keeping all images the same size.
When uploading multiple images to the image library, you may want to set the image count to the max number of images you wish to display by editing the page, clicking the web part drop-down and selecting Edit Web Part. Expand the NewsGator section in the editor part and set the count and click the apply button. Images are sorted by upload date descending, so newer images show up first.
Two optional fields are available for all images. Title, which adds white text with a translucent black background along the bottom of the image, and the ability to hyperlink the image with the Carousel Link field.
Blog Roll-Up web part
Please refer to the core Aurea Social administration guide for the setup and configuration of this web part.
Community & Colleague Recommendation web parts
These two web parts use the same recommendation engine as in other parts of the core Aurea Social product. They are great for new deployments, but not as recommended in more mature environments since the recommendations tend to become less relevant as people may already follow many communities and colleagues.
Other Considerations
It’s not recommended to add the landing page to the My Site host. NewsGator generally recommends using a blank site template.