FEATURE DEVELOPMENT
Bells, Whistles, and Blogs
Web users today are savvier and more discerning than ever. They want to be more than satisfied with a Web experience—they want to be dazzled by it. You can turn a passive Web site experience into a dynamic look at the personality of your institution. By adding interactive features to your Web site, you will:
- Keep up with the competition. More and more colleges and universities are investing in cutting-edge technologies—you should, too.
- Take your current Web site to the next level. Even if you've recently redesigned your site, by adding interactive features, you'll continue to enhance the visitor experience.
- Create a "sticky" site. Interactive features encourage visitors to participate in your site instead of passively viewing information. And, if you have a stellar virtual tour or student blog, you can generate word-of-mouth—and more hits.
- Go multi-dimensional. The Web can do what print publications can't—provide moving images, sounds, and dynamic, ever-changing content.
The possibilities are only limited to our imaginations—and what we can accomplish by looking at your institution's strengths and opportunities. Here are detailed descriptions of just some of the powerful and engaging features that we can implement on your Web site:
Virtual Tours
Blogs and Vlogs
Video Profiles
Seasonal New Skin
Virtual Tours
Stamats' usability testing with prospective students continues to find that your prospects have high expectations for virtual tours and regularly look for them early and often on college Web sites. The term "virtual tour" can mean many things to different people. The variations on the virtual tour are, pardon the pun, virtually endless. At Stamats, we use the term to describe an interactive Web feature that shows a glimpse of life on your campus through a browser. This means that virtual tours have to go beyond the standard building-based map tour. Today's virtual tours can:
- Revolve around a particular major or a "type" of student you are targeting
- Feature student "tour guides" that show visitors around campus and reveal the campus experience literally through their own voice and perspective
- Use video to give a three-dimensional view of campus life, such as showing a class in session, sporting event, or popular student traditions
- Include a map-based component that connects panoramic images with an interactive map that allows students to "zoom" in on areas of interest
Blogs and Vlogs
Blogs and vlogs are popular areas on college Web sites, and for good reason. Using copy (blogs) and sometimes video (vlogs), these features highlight the reality of student life from the students' perspectives. Even if the blogs and vlogs are located within an admissions section of a college site, prospective students perceive them as more believable than marketing information. Blogs and vlogs are continuing to grow on college sites—faculty, staff, and even some presidents are adding their experiences to the Web.
Stamats develops blogging and vlogging systems (both custom and through a CMS). The systems allow for an unlimited amount of journalists and can be customized to match your site's design. Stamats also offers additional options, such as Flash features, to make the sites interactive.
Video Profiles
Profiles that use video/audio components bring your campus constituents to life. More than "a talking head" testimonial, video profiles can capture the essence of your institution. Many institutions use video profiles to introduce current students and faculty to visitors.
For example, you may use a video profile of a current student to show prospective students about life on campus. Rather than introducing "Sarah, a Biology major," you introduce "Sarah, a Biology major" and show her attending her chemistry class and meeting friends in the library. It's a real-life approach that resonates with prospective students.
Seasonal New Skin
Stamats can help you change the look on your home page to reflect the events on your campus, the approaching season, or even the upcoming holiday. By changing the home page on your site, you can create buzz, generate interest, and guarantee repeat visitors.