This month's Manager's tip comes from Tim Parker, who manages The Mobile Area Young Professionals Alliance (MAYPA) Groupsite from Mobile, Alabama, USA. Tim incorporates useful widgets and customized content to get more done with his Groupsite.
Here's what Tim shared:
"The release of the new version of Groupsites has given managers more freedom to incorporate much-needed features. New, versatile content modules and the ability to add customizable pages have been a great tool in the redesigning of the MAYPA Groupsite (maypa.collectivex.com).
My particular organization was recently formed, but is growing quickly throughout the local community. In just a year, we have seen nearly 500 members join our Groupsite. I attribute this largely to the support of local partners; and, as a way of thanking them, I wanted to give them high visibility on the main page of our Groupsite. The Freeform Text content module proved to be a great solution for my needs.
Using SwishMax Flash-editing software, which I had on my laptop (similar web-based editors can be found online), I was able to create a rotating flash banner that showcased our Platinum Level Partners. I was pleased to know that I could paste the HTML code for this banner into the Freeform Text module’s HTML source view. The result was a front-page solution for giving our partners visible recognition for their support. I then went a step further by linking this module to a newly added customizable page that showcases all of our partners. Both features have been a successful addition to our site.
Other features we were able to incorporate using these new tools include a module that showcases event flyers, a job board and a customized page which holds the minutes from our latest committee meetings.
I encourage all Groupsite managers to thoroughly test-drive these new content modules and customizable web pages. They will enhance your site dramatically if you just get creative."
Thanks, Tim! Here are a few great resources for building your own widgets, as well as finding cool ones that are easy to embed into your Groupsite:
