So what’s the Big Deal about Your Intranet Name?

You would be surprised if you find out how the companies are using an intranet that has a name like intranet or SharePoint or portal. One of the first things that we do a SharePoint consultants is encourage them to pick a proper name for this ever-growing ever-evolving company software hub!

As it turns out, a lot depends on the name that you choose. Intranets and corporate culture should go hand in hand. Having a catchy and memorable intranet name is a great way of promoting your intranet. A name can help build an identity, even give the intranet a personality, and remove that ‘techy’ edge. This is useful when trying to build staff awareness and engagement with a new or relaunched intranet. It’s important to note that the intranet is managed by the IT department but it belongs to the entire company. To encourage distributed ownership of this software a name is important.

We suggest combine a catchy name with a clever tag line on your intranet, build a strong brand design, and you can do a lot to enhance it and reflect your culture.

Don’t be tempted to use acronyms. It’s probably the case that your company already uses a slew of acronyms to describe your business functions, departments, products, or services. Don’t shoot your intranet in the foot by thinking up just another acronym to describe your intranet.

Your intranet must have a name. A real, full name. The reason is purely psychological. Once you launch your intranet, the most important thing is that your employees become users. You want your employees to feel connected to the intranet. Acronyms are stiff and impersonal. A real name inspires an emotional connection at an unconscious level. You are not asking your users to “love” your intranet. You simply want them to accept it as a valuable part of your organization.

Your employees are creative people. And creative people love giving things nicknames. If you choose the perfect name for your intranet, one of the worse things that could happen is that your users start calling it by a nickname, especially an unflattering nickname. That’s why you must focus on promoting the name and reinforcing the use of the name. Some organizations come up with a lovable character to represent their intranet. That’s a great idea.