Friday Feature: Make Good Use of Your ‘Online Real Estate’ with a Rotator Panel

Over the next few weeks, we’re going to publish a series of blogs taking a look at online newsrooms and their features and functionality, through the eyes of the people who use them the most, the journalists. This week, our chosen feature is the rotator panel.

As a business journalist who regularly scours obscure corners of the internet looking for new stories and seeking fresh inspiration, I can inform you that so much brand-owned, online ‘real estate’ goes to waste. Don’t get me wrong, I like a well-designed website, but design is less important to journalists than ease-of-use. If I’m forced to click three times or scroll down below the fold to find the newest stories, I will get frustrated. I may even click away.

Remember that the top section of your online newsroom is your shop window. Don’t waste it. Rotator panels are a great option to ‘sell’ your stories to journalists.

Take the TaylorMade – TaylorMade Golf News – online newsroom. Its rotator panel features ‘hero’ images, the latest news and crisp headlines that are clickable. A rotator can also promote videos, reports, blogs and podcasts. They also make your stories more searchable.

Once clicked on, TaylorMade’s story pages are nicely laid-out and I can quickly see what copyright-free media assets are available. The whole newsroom offers an easy and highly intuitive experience for journalists.

Finally, be sure to keep your rotator panel up to date. Your online newsroom is not an archive site, it’s a living and breathing newsroom. Keep it fresh. Make me want to return, time and again, for fear of missing out.

How does your online newsroom stack up again TaylorMade’s newsroom? If you want to find out how to improve the newsroom experience for your target audiences, get in touch. We’re the experts.