Intranet Content Ideas: 22 Intranet Content Suggestions

Your intranet was a hit when it first launched, but usage has slowly gone down. With everyone now working remotely, more people are using the platform’s tools – but they don’t find the content on there very exciting. It can be tricky to think up original ideas for your intranet every month. You’re not alone in this struggle – Gartner reports that 90% of intranets fail to meet their goals. And according to Gallup, 74% of employees feel left out and disconnected from company news.

A lot of companies make the mistake of thinking of an intranet as something you set up once and forget about. The truth is that it needs regular care and attention to keep it interesting. Are you looking for ways to spice up your intranet? Here are 22 great ideas to get you started!

Guidelines for Creating Phenomenal Content

To create good content for your intranet, it’s important to write in an emotional and natural way. Make sure to avoid repetition – nobody wants to read the same thing twice!

Relevant

When creating intranet content, focus on quality over quantity. Keep your content clear and concise to avoid overwhelming readers. Make sure the language is easy to understand and appropriate for someone of an eighth-grade reading level or lower.

Interacting

The best way to promote engagement is by getting people involved and interacting with each other. Try posting content that encourages your followers to like, comment, and share. Show your audience that you value their opinion – ask questions or start discussions and create an environment where everyone can exchange ideas. Making sure the language you use is clear and simple will ensure that everyone understands what’s going on.

Mix Things Up on Intranet

Unleash your creativity and explore the endless possibilities of multimedia on your intranet! From vlogs and explainer videos to infographics and podcasts, you can create an engaging experience for all users. Make sure to write in a way that is human-like, using simple words and clear language.

Bite-sized Chunks

Short paragraphs, headings, and lists help users quickly identify the most important information in the text. To keep readers engaged, break up long blocks of text with images, photos, and other visuals. For more detail-oriented readers, offer options to click for additional information.

Navigation

Creating an intuitive intranet for your business is key to helping users find what they need. Organizing content around tasks or departments makes it easier for users to access the information they require quickly and efficiently. To further simplify navigation, add meaningful tags to each piece of content to make it easier to discover. With a few simple steps, you can provide an enjoyable user experience!

22 Ideas for Intranet Content

1. Give Your Intranet a Name

Naming your intranet brings it to life! Let’s get your staff involved and start a competition for the best name. Cast your vote in a snap poll and help choose the perfect title for your intranet platform.

2. Create a Content Calendar

Creating great content takes planning and organization. For example, if the end of the financial year is coming up, that’s the perfect time to share corporate performance data. Maybe you have a new product launch planned for October – be sure to include an internal press release in your schedule! Aim to post something new every day so viewers will always find something interesting on your intranet. Analyzing user data can also tell you when people are most likely to view the site – try posting content at these peak times to increase engagement. Having a plan gives your content structure and helps evenly distribute the workload.

3. Your Intranet Should be Appealing

The best intranet designs aren’t just functional, they’re also fun to use. Many intranets are too text-heavy, which can be hard going for users. Make sure your intranet design is as eye-catching as possible. Use imagery and colors to grab the attention of users. Why not mix things up throughout the year? Go green for St Patrick’s Day, or choose yellow to welcome in the summer. Use images, photos, graphics, and diagrams to illustrate and support written content. And incorporate video wherever possible. A corporate update delivered by the CEO in a vlog is more engaging than a memo. And rather than a complicated written procedure, why not upload an explainer video detailing how to complete a fault-finding diagnostic?

Incorporate social media into your intranet design too! One of the best ways to communicate with employees is through social media — it’s one of the fastest ways to get information out there while helping people connect with each other at work. But if you don’t have time to set up a separate social media presence on each of your company’s platforms (Facebook, Twitter

4. Concentrate on People

People enjoy reading content about people. Winning intranets have a strong emphasis on the organization’s human side. Include shout-outs as a great way to recognize employees publicly. Even better, make it possible for staff to celebrate colleagues who go the extra mile. Introduce new employees on the intranet. Consider showcasing the work of a team or individual in a special ‘day in the life’ feature. Include intranet employee profiles that highlight workers’ knowledge and expertise. And bring these profiles to life with personal information, including family, hobbies, and achievements outside work.

You can also create an employee directory where you can post pictures and biographical details of all your staff members (not just those who work directly for you). This can be done by creating a page called “Employee Directory” where you copy and paste every single employee’s profile into one huge list so that anyone looking at this page will see all their names together as well as their jobs (or titles if they aren’t employed directly by you).

5. Connect Your Remote Employees

Many people think that content is the only thing you need to make a website successful. It’s true that your website needs to be filled with useful information, but it’s also true that many sites have been successful with very little content.

The key to good content is making sure it’s relevant and useful to your audience. If you’re trying to sell a product or service, then you want people to find out about it by reading articles on how it works and why people should buy it.

People content is even more critical when you have staff working remotely. It helps bridge the gap in distributed teams so all employees feel connected and part of something bigger. Many companies have a dedicated intranet space for remote workers. Host weekly or monthly virtual team-building events, such as trivia quizzes, shared lunches, or bake-offs. Encourage telecommuters to share tips and tricks on remote working or post photos of their home-office setups. A dedicated channel on team chat ensures remote workers can have the same opportunities for water cooler conversations as their office-based colleagues.

6. Onboarding Process Simplified

Onboarding is a critical task for every organization. Get it right, and your recruit will become a productive team member in no time. And an onboarding hub on the intranet is the perfect platform. Here, in one central location, is everything your new hire needs. Intranets tick all the boxes from how-to videos, SOPs, and employee directories to automated new hire forms and checklists. Onboarding is simplified and streamlined for both the employee and the employer.

And there’s more than just new hire forms: a well-designed intranet has strong community features that encourage employees to share knowledge with each other. A helpful intranet can also help you meet compliance requirements like HIPAA or PCI DSS compliance.

7. Make an Industry News Center

A centralized digest of industry news and updates is an excellent example of value-added content. Instead of signing up for a variety of industry newsletters, employees have one source of truth. It helps workers stay ahead of the game with valuable industry knowledge. And why not create your own content with, say, a COO review of a competitor merger or an analysis of new technology implemented by the R&D team? It’s an important step to take if you want to grow your business or elevate your brand in the eyes of customers and clients.

8. Blog of CEO Announcements

Of course, the intranet is also the vehicle for keeping staff updated on company news. However, during the pandemic, many CEOs started communicating with the workforce through informal videos often shot at home. These off-the-cuff messages proved to be hugely popular. Workers saw a different, more personal, and authentic side to their leaders. So, honest and genuine leadership communications are a must-have for any intranet, whether it’s a vlog or blog.

Moreover, many have found that employees are much more engaged by these informal videos than by traditional intranet posts or press releases. The reason? Employees believe that their leaders care about them—and they want to be heard!

For example: When I asked my team members what they would do if we had no access to our office space in London (which was a possibility), they all said they would come back to work as soon as possible. But when I suggested that we could work remotely or use video conferencing instead of traveling back and forth every day, everyone understood how important it is for employees to be together in one place so they can.

9. User Polls and Surveys

If you’re looking for some fun ways to engage with your employees, surveys, and polls are great tools. Surveys are a quick way to gauge employee sentiment and help you track performance. Polls give employees a voice and send a strong signal about how much their views matter. However, survey fatigue is a genuine issue, so don’t overdo this feature. Otherwise, workers may think you are just going through the motions. And be sure to report back on any outcomes or actions resulting from surveys.

Surveys should be short and easy to complete, but they should also have clear results and the ability for employees to provide feedback on those results. A good survey design should include multiple-choice or checkbox options with at least five choices per question (and ideally more). It should be gender-neutral and focus on one topic: company culture, work/life balance, or compensation/benefits.

Surveys can be sent via email or an internal tool like Yammer — it’s up to you! But remember: if someone takes too long to complete the survey, they won’t receive any follow-up communications or rewards for participation.

10. Gamification and Contest

Contests and competitions are a helpful way to get staff engaged with the intranet. Similarly, gamification boosts intranet interaction. Reward users for completing tasks on the intranet or engaging with content with digital badges and level progression. Gamifying activities that mimic online games introduce a fun element to using that intranet that will resonate with many.

Intranets can be used as a great way to motivate staff members and give them something to look forward to each day. By encouraging participation and fostering communication within your organization, you will have created a powerful tool for building lasting relationships within your team.

11. Celebrate Achievements

Celebrating company success stories is a sure-fire hit. After all, who doesn’t want to be part of a success story? It’s hugely motivating for the entire workforce. And don’t forget to celebrate non-work-related achievements. Acknowledge the births of children and grandchildren and congratulate the staff for their triumphs like running a marathon. There’s a ton of content mileage in celebrating successes.

The problem with celebrating success is that it can easily turn into a game of one-upmanship — “I won this tender; you should have!” or “That product was so innovative; you should have!” or even worse “I wasn’t involved in that project but I know it was a complete disaster because my manager told me so. Why did you get the contract? You should have lost it!

12. Customer Testimonials And Accomplishments

Similarly, start sharing any favorable feedback from clients or testimonials. This type of acknowledgment has a positive effect on everyone. Customer accomplishments are an extremely effective marketing tool. They assist employees in understanding their roles as well as the company’s mission. To see how their efforts affect customers makes the employees’ work more fulfilling.

13. Permit for Customized Intranet Content

Your intranet is the first place where many employees look for information, news, and other content. That’s why it’s important to make it as useful as possible. Here are some tips on how to create an intranet that provides a personalized experience for your employees:

Allow employees to personalize their intranet home page. Hotlinks and shortcuts take the worker directly to their favorite tools and content. And utilize social intranet features such as follow-me functionality and activity walls. Employees set their preferences for a targeted, highly relevant experience every time they log on. It means they can filter out all the irrelevant background noise.

Share your company blog with staff members who need up-to-date information on the latest industry trends or news about the organization’s activities. This way, everyone will be able to stay up-to-date with what’s happening at work despite being busy with their personal lives outside of work hours

14. Promote Internal Job Openings

Internal recruitment is a cost-effective way to fill vacancies. Internal candidates are already familiar with the company setup and can be up and running quickly. Use the intranet for advertising internal job opportunities. And make it easy for employees to apply with an online automated form that routes the application directly to HR. And don’t stop at permanent vacancies. You can also advertise projects, working groups, or internal gigs. Your people will welcome the opportunity to develop their skills and expertise.

Internal recruiters are one of the best ways to keep your team happy and productive while they’re looking for new jobs in your industry or sector. They understand how your business works, so they can help you find the right candidates quickly, who share your values and goals. Plus, they know which skills are in demand right now — so they can match you with people who have them already or who will learn them quickly on your team.

15. Make Q&A Forums

Forums are a great way to get answers from your colleagues. These online question-and-answer forums are easy to set up, and they’re perfect for sharing knowledge and expertise across the business.

Forums are an excellent way to share information and collaborate with your team. They allow you to ask questions, raise issues, and share your knowledge and insights with colleagues. The anytime, anywhere, any place nature of the intranet means help is just a click away.

16. Promote the Creation of User-Generated Content

Motivate employees to produce content and observe your involvement surge significantly. Much like social media, this might include liking, sharing, and commenting on posts. Employees can also contribute to company blogs and discussion boards. Certain businesses have created pre-made templates to make it simpler for staff to participate. Why not have a page specifically for bright ideas, for example? Your personnel can upload their current insights to share with colleagues right away. A customized intranet template makes it very simple for employees to publish their content. Plus, user-generated content encourages participation. Moreover, it adds the essential authenticity and applicability that could be lacking from your intranet.

17. Join Team Chat

Recently, there has been an increasing trend of employees opting to work from home, as well as an expansion of the gig economy which has made freelancers and contractors a common sight in work environments. Team chat is a great way to unify personnel. You can set up different channels for individual teams, by geographical area, or for topics such as #ideasworthsharing, #salesdevelopment, or #marketing101. Additionally, the @mentions tool can be used to bring people into conversations and to receive notifications and updates.

18. Events Calendar

Events will undoubtedly occur whether your business operates locally, remotely, or in a hybrid environment. They might consist of social team-building activities like online or real-life shared lunches and get-togethers. Or they might be professional, such as lunch and learns and webinars. A centralized events calendar informs all staff members and encourages participation.

19. Resources For Learning And Development

On your intranet, highlight opportunities for learning and growth and show your dedication to your staff. It is critical to have the ability to look up and find workshops, classes, training resources, and educational content. Share webinars or upload instructional videos. so that employees can refer to them in case they forget something. A mentoring or job shadowing program might also be implemented. There’s a good reason why mentoring programs have been created by 84 percent of Fortune 500 companies. They are not only well-liked by staff members, but they are also essential to succession planning and knowledge sharing.

20. Health and Well-being

During the pandemic, employee health and well-being have gained a lot of attention. Utilize the self-service resources and information on your intranet to support wellbeing. Why not create recurring themes, like a week dedicated to mindfulness? Employees can exchange advice on how to maintain concentration. Additionally, a 5-minute morning mindfulness exercise hosted on the intranet will boost productivity for both office and remote workers.

21. Post Inspirational Quotes

The intranet of your company is no exception to the popularity of motivational quotes on social media. They can inspire your employees and assist them in getting off to a strong start. You can also read our 70 Inspiring Employee Engagement Quotes if you need some motivation. To get you started, you’ll find a ton of ideas. Monday mornings are frequently the best time to post a quote, so we advise doing so once per week. But be careful not to overdo it. The impact of these encouraging pick-me-ups can be diminished by posting too frequently.

22. Start Making your Intranet Content Exciting

Give the intranet a playful, enjoyable touch. Everyone’s experience will be dull if they only work. A little light relief is crucial for everyone’s health and well-being, particularly in the wake of the current pandemic. Set up an internal Craigslist for employees or launch an online recipe swap as fun ideas to get your staff to guess who by sharing some interesting facts from employee profiles. May is National Pet Month, so why not mark the occasion with bizarre pet photos? To promote adoption and engagement, make space for some humor on your intranet. After all, who can resist a cute picture of a beloved canine companion?

Best Practices for Intranet Engagement

The key is to concentrate on content that benefits your audience. Use these intranet engagement best-practice suggestions to keep the content on your intranet interesting, pertinent, and fun. Delete any outdated or irrelevant content from your intranet after conducting a regular review. In this manner, the effectiveness of your intranet is maximized and a return on investment is produced. The incredibly user-friendly intranet software from Creative Social Intranet is available for a free demo interested in learning more.