Promotional page

Designed to support marketing or educational efforts, Promotional pages are published for a short period of time.

Why use this content type?

This is a visually engaging content type that supports a focused marketing or awareness effort. Promotional pages, which are intended to be live for a finite time period, serve as a simple introduction to timely information and typically feature a primary call to action.

These pages guide visitors who have minimal or varying levels of background knowledge to more specific services and resources either on or off Mass.gov.

See an example of a Promo page you may want to model.

If you're looking to create evergreen content, choose another content type based on the nature of your content. Promo pages are not designed as replacements for Organization pages or Press Releases, or to serve as splashy cover pages for Binders or other content.

Information Details and other content types can provide visually compelling design if you take advantage of images and other features.

Compare components available on Info Details, Organization, Promotional, and Service pages.

Linking to Promotional pages

Promotional pages can be linked from a Featured Item Mosaic on an Organization page, Events, or other Mass.gov content types. But they more likely will be accessed via a friendly URL, which might be discovered via external sources, such as a billboard, flier, email newsletter or social media message.

We ask that you apply for friendly URLs via a ServiceNow request at least 1 week before you plan to advertise the web address.

Examples of Promotional pages could include:

Awareness campaigns that call attention to a subject (and encourage action), such as becoming a foster parent or getting a flu shot
Educational campaigns that raise awareness about an issue, such as the EEE virus or water conservation
Bringing attention to a public service change, such as the introduction of Real ID
Recruiting, such as hiring for a certain skill set or agency.

Note: All CMS users can access the Promotional page content type and create drafts. You must also have editing privileges to publish a page.

Setting an unpublish date

You no longer need to set an unpublish date for Promotional pages, though it's a good idea to revisit them periodically to ensure they're current.

It's common for content to be created and less common for it to be reviewed and taken down when needed. If your Promotional page is planned to be for a limited duration, we suggest you set an unpublish date via the “Scheduled Transitions” tab. You will get a reminder email a week before and it will give you an opportunity to change the date or remove it.

Click on the Reschedule transition link in that message and a pop-up will appear. There, you can reset the unpublish date and time.

Click the Reschedule transition button at the bottom of the box to have your changes take effect.

You'll receive a reminder email within a week of your Promotional page's unpublish date. At that point, you can extend the unpublish date, allow the page to unpublish, or trash it and request a drupal-to-drupal redirect to another page.

Setting up a promotional page

Overview tab

Title and Meta Description

Neither the Title nor Meta Description will appear on the page, but the information you put in these fields can help search engines find your content. So be sure to use terms that people would use to find such content.

While the Title can be the same as the Key Message title or Video title that will appear as the “headline” on your page, you could make the Title more descriptive and focus less on its marketing appeal.

Short title

Optional. This field is used to shorten the full title of a page when displayed in a breadcrumb. First aim to shorten the actual page title if it’s long, but not so much that the title is no longer clear if someone comes directly to a page from a search engine.

Parent page

The required Parent page field appears on all public-facing content types and it powers the breadcrumb-based navigation system.

The Mass.gov team prepopulated the field based on an analysis of which child pages belong to which parent pages. Each child page can be assigned only 1 parent, or higher level page.

These connections, displayed in the form of breadcrumbs (i.e., links) above the page title, will help Mass.gov visitors find their way to relevant information regardless of where they start on the site.

Organization(s)

Fill in the Organization(s) that offer the information.

Language

English is chosen by default, but you can choose another language via the dropdown or make a ServiceNow request if the language you need isn't in the dropdown.

Labels

This is optional, however it is very helpful. Add one or more labels to be used to used for grouping and finding related content and documents within the CMS. Start typing in the Label(s) field to choose an existing label from a dropdown menu that will appear or add a new label by entering it directly.

Content tab

Headers and Sections

Promotional pages consist of 1 "Header" and up to 9 additional "Sections. "The "Header" consists of either a “Key Message” or “Video.” This is where you make your big splash. Visitors will see this first, so it should have the most visual impact. Promotional pages can include additional “Key Message” or “Video” sections, as well as a “Feature” section and "Custom search" box, all of which are described below. You can use different styles for “Key Messages” and “Videos” in the "Header" and further down the page.

Key Message

The Key Message includes the text that appears in a large rectangle that overlays a primary image or that displays against a solid background if no image is used. A common approach is to use an image with the Key Message in the Header at the top of the page, then use the solid background for additional Key Message sections.

Tips for writing key messages:

Avoid using images that include text or are too busy - this impacts accessibility and readability of your key message
Use up to 80 characters (including spaces) in your Key Message

Hint: Promotional pages do not include an "Offered by" link to your Organization page as other content types do. But you can make clear which organization is offering the content by weaving its name into text somewhere on the page if you think it's important to mention.

The "Key Message" consists of several fields (Key message title, Subtitle or Short description, Button URL/Button text) that combine to convey your main point.

Key message title

You have up to 80 characters to get your main message across in a Key Message box. Preview your page to make sure it doesn’t amount to more than 2 lines of text. It’s a good idea to Google your intended title to see if it’s identical to any existing Mass.gov content.

Subtitle or Description

You can elaborate on your Key message title by using either a Subtitle or Description. This text will appear directly beneath the Key message title.

The Subtitle will display in larger font size than the Description, so generally looks better when used for a brief tagline or phrase.

The Description can include 1 or 2 sentences, but can also be used to create a horizontal list of terms.

To create the horizontal list:

Step 1: Type a list of terms into the Description box and highlight it.

Step 2: Click the bullets icon while list is highlighted.

Note: The bullets won't actually appear on the page.

Step 3: Click the Styles icon while the terms are still highlighted, and choose "Horizontal list" from drop-down menu.

Step 4: Save the page.

Button

The "Button" is the small rectangle within the "Key Message" box that links to a resource on or off Mass.gov. It requires a Button URL and Button text. This is where you make a call to action, beginning with a verb, such as "Find Community Grants" or "Search Jobs." The text is limited to 50 characters.

While the "Button" is optional, it is strongly encouraged since it's where you make your call to action.

Background

Single image background

You can display your "Key Message" on top of a single image that spans the width of the page or have it appear against a solid color background.

If using an image, be sure to use a high quality one: Recommended image size is 1920 x 1080. You’ll also want to consider how it looks when the text box overlaps it. Watch for people’s faces getting cut off, for example. Search the Image Library to find photos.

If you want your image to take up less space and not push down the text of your "Key Message," select the "Use half image" box to reduce the height of the image by half.

Click on your image to chose a focal point. If you want a half height image, you can specify whether the top, middle or bottom of it is visible.

Solid color background

Another option is to display your "Key Message" against a solid color background. If doing so in the "Header," you can choose between a background of dark blue or green. If doing so in an additional "Section" further down on the page, you’ll have a wider selection of colors.

If you want your background to take up less space and avoid pushing down the text of your "Key Message," select the "Use half image" box to reduce the height of the background.

Video

Videos can be used for the "Header" or in additional "Sections."

Video title and Description

Each video should be described via a Video title, and if needed, a Description. The text will appear above the video. Avoid repeating the exact words that display on your embedded video preview.

Videos can be embedded on the page either by selecting existing files in the CMS or by adding them.

"Header" videos can be displayed against a dark blue or green background. Those in additional "Sections" feature a wider selection of background colors.

Feature section

The "Feature section" highlights complementary content, such as case studies or related press releases, and appears as a 3-part block of text and images. All 3 components must be used, and the order and position in which they appear is fixed. Only 1 "Feature section" should be used per Promotional page.

Featured section title

A brief Feature section title sums up the contents of the entire section.

Primary and Secondary featured items

The “Primary featured item“ sits at the top of this section and includes an image that runs the full width of the page. It requires a Featured item title that’s hyperlinked via a URL in the Link field. A required 1- or 2-sentence Description expands on the title.

Underneath the “Primary featured item” sit 2 “Secondary featured items,” which each require an image. The “Secondary featured items” also each require a Featured item title that’s hyperlinked via a URL in the Link field. A required 1- or 2-sentence Description expands on each title. The description field is only for text, not links.

All 3 featured items are required.

Custom search

Add a search box to help visitors to your page find information from within a group of related content organized into a Collection or at an external search destination. Read more about custom search options.

Key performance indicators

“Key performance indicators” (KPIs) let you define how success is measured for your Promotional page and then track performance. Learn more about the Promotional page dashboard.

You can use up to 3. However, note that KPI data is not yet available through the Analytics Dashboards for your page.

We hope agencies will use KPI data to continuously track and monitor the performance of their Promotional page throughout the length of their marketing campaign, and make changes to the page or the campaign if it is not performing as well as it could.

If the main goal of your page is to encourage people to watch a video, you’ll want to set your video play or watch goal high, perhaps as much as 80%. Other KPIs might be trickier to determine and will take some experimentation. Our Mass Digital team will be happy to discuss KPI strategy with you during Office Hours.

KPI options include:

Click-through rate: Key message button only

Measures the percent of visitors who click 1 of your Key message buttons. Enter a percentage in the form of a decimal (e.g., 80% as 0.80). This is probably the best option for most pages. If your promotional page is designed to promote or highlight one specific link, we recommend selecting this option, placing that Key message button in the first position, and filling the rest of your Promotional page with content that supports or informs the Key message. Key message buttons at the top of the page typically receive more clicks than content further down on the page.

If you find that your Key message button is not attracting as many clicks as you expected, you may want to look at the language you’re using on the button, in the section itself, or in your marketing campaign, to see if it is unclear or if you’re setting up false expectations.

Click-through rate: buttons and links

Measures the percent of visitors who click on any button or featured link on the page. If the goal of your Promotional page is to highlight or promote a group of pages rather than a specific link, you may want to consider this option. For example, if the main highlight of your Promotional page is a Feature section with 3 stories this option will be a better measure of the page’s success.

If your page’s click-through rate on buttons and links is lower than you anticipated, you may want to look at the language you’re using for link text or the short descriptions, the photos you’re using for each story, or the language you’re using in the marketing campaign driving people to the Promotional page.

Percent of video plays

Tracks the percent of visitors who clicked the “play” button on a video over the past month. If you are highlighting a shorter video, or one where the main points are front-loaded in the first 10-20 seconds of your video, this is probably your best option.

If your percent of video plays is lower than you expected, you may want to think about moving the video higher up on the page, experimenting with a different thumbnail, or making any introduction or explanatory text you're using more enticing.

Percent of video watches

Measures the percent of visitors who watched at least half of your video last month. If the goal of your Promotional page is to get more people to watch the full video, rather than just the opening seconds, this is probably the option you’ll want to try. Shorter, more kinetic videos will be more successful than longer, static ones.

The best way to improve your percent of video watches is to take a hard look at your video, and try to figure out where and why people are dropping off. Selling the appeal or importance of the video in your marketing campaign or the supporting text on the Promotional page could also help improve the percentage.

Number of pageviews

Tallies the number of times this page was viewed last month. Enter a whole number.

This is the most basic KPI option currently available, probably best for pages that don’t have a specific goal in mind, other than to get the most eyes on their content. The best way to raise the number of pageviews for your Promotional page would be to use more enticing or exciting language in your marketing campaign, or to put a link to the page in the Featured Item Mosaic in your Organization page.