Thanks to all of our clients who reach out to us with recommendations to the platform, we are constantly able to make updates to make your lives easier.  We recently rolled out a couple of updates to our CRM platform based on some valuable feedback.

New user summary icons

The user summary page has always shown if a piece of outbound correspondence was closed, but now you’ll be able to quickly tell if the correspondence was closed out before or after the printing/emailing process.  This update will give you even faster access to a lot of valuable correspondence information.

Auto-response for contact forms

You can now customize an email auto-response message to people who fill out your website’s contact form.  Just visit Settings > Write Rep in the platform to draft and test your auto-response.  You can format these responses to look like your other email templates in the system.  This allows you to keep your office brand consistent throughout all forms of communication.

If you have ideas for how we can enhance our platform, hop into our chat room and let us know!

The Budget Committee’s new website does a great job of providing an abundance of information in an organized way. The top portion of the homepage is totally customized to feature issues, pages, and videos that highlight the committee’s work. Recent news and Twitter posts are organized on the lower portion of the page to give a snapshot of current issues. This layout makes it easy to keep up with the committee 24/7.

The 9th District of Georgia should be very pleased with Rep. Tom Graves new website. The site features a crisp layout that is informative without being cluttered. You can also see some great shots of the 9th District in the rotating background images.

Rep. Tim Scott’s new website offers a lot of information with a clean and simple layout. Visitors are able to easily find ways to reach out to the Congressman right on the homepage without having to sift through extraneous content. The site also features a prominent slideshow that allows his staff to promote issues that are important to their district.

Rep. David Schweikert’s new website combines easy-to-use navigation with a sleek design to provide information for constituents of Arizona’s 5th District. Constituent services, news, and videos from the office are easy found right on the homepage.

We take a lot of pride in what we do here at Fireside21: making easy to use software the helps connect legislators with their constituents. I’ve started writing more about how we run our business, so it was refreshing to read Wil Shipley’s blog post, Success, and Farming vs. Mining (found via Daring Fireball).

It’s something I think a lot about and I couldn’t have said it better!

You can either see founding a company as something you’re doing because you want to produce good software, or you can see it as something you do so you can sell your stock and make a killing and move on.

Maybe it’s obvious that I respect one approach more than the other. In fact, I would say that a big problem with our field is that mining is so glamorized.

Much more on the analogy and a successful work ethic is here on Wil’s blog.

At this point, I know that you’ve all scoured your websites and fixed everything in the top 4 CMF rating criteria from our previous post (just kidding!).  Now that you’ve developed a critical eye to look through the content of your website, there are some other areas that should get your attention.  These items round out the top 10 focus areas the CMF use to evaluate Congressional websites.

5. District/State information

Your district pages are another area that don’t require a great deal of upkeep, but they should be informative. Be sure to include information specific to your district and state including demographic information, a map (or interactive map), and local resources that your constituents can use. Rep. Mazie Hirono and Rep. Lynn Westmoreland have very thorough District sections that highlight useful information for residents and visitors to their districts.

6. Accountability

By providing links to your Member’s sponsored and co-sponsored legislation, voting record, and key votes by issue, you are able to highlight your Member’s accomplishments and demonstrate all of the work being done on your constituents’ behalf.  While linking to the THOMAS and Clerk websites covers the first two items, you can also highlight specific votes on your Issue pages to tie everything together.

7. Legislative Process

If you look at your website as an educational resource for your constituents, you’ll be able to think of things that can be added to inform them about the legislative process. Dedicate a page (or more!) to explaining how Congress works. Where does your Member fit in the whole process?  Rep. Silvestre Reyes has a Legislative Information section which is highlighted in the navigation bar. This section provides information about the Legislative Branch, the legislative process, and invites visitors to learn more about the government.

8. Floor Proceedings

While the Member is busy doing work in DC, your constituents are curious about what’s happening. Rep. Mike Ross has a great Issues & Legislation section that breaks down what he is doing in Congress, what’s currently happening in Congress, and how Congress works.  Providing this information lets your constituents know all of the work that is being done while the Member is away from your district.

9. Media Communication

Your press releases are probably updated frequently in your office, but keep in mind that both quality and quantity count.  There are also other kinds of items that fall under the “media” umbrella including other kinds of written releases (i.e. columns and op-ed pieces), video, and audio.  Does your Member have a YouTube account?  Do you have a regular podcast?  If so, you should consider integrating both of these things into your website.

10. Communication Technology and Use of Social Media

Highlighting the Member’s social media accounts on your website is a great way to keep your constituents involved!  Linking your social media accounts on your website and vice versa allows visitors to reach out to the Member in the way that is most comfortable for them. Rep. Lamar Smith’s social media accounts are prominently displayed on the homepage. You’ll also notice that “share” icons are available throughout the site to encourage further interaction with social media. These are both great ways to keep the constituent conversation moving forward.

Other posts in this series:

• How to Win a Gold Mouse Award, Part I – Where Do You Start?