Before Web 2.0, organizations would take old brochure copy, poor graphics, a couple of cheesy widgets and off they go to build a web site in bad html code. With today’s user expectations, web sites have to be a bit more sophisticated, offering the best-of-breed in user experience and delivery.

To truly build a great web site presence, compete on a level playing field and convert customers, organizations must do a bit of homework before developing their web site.

Review competitors – in order to compete, organizations need to see how they fare against the competition. A comprehensive competitor’s analysis will allow the organization to provide a similar interactive experience when vying for customers to their products or services.

Know your audience – most web sites try to cater to a broad-base audience using a ‘hit or miss’ approach. With today’s web savvy user, web sites need to address exactly who their customers are. In most cases, audiences are looking to be entertained, informed or persuaded - but knowing specific industry focus, generational disposition and online behavior will go a long way in getting your audience to engage, drill down and act.

Create relevant content – with the growth of social communities, blogs and rich video media, content can be served up in many formats. Key to the use of these great Web 2.0 applications is providing relevant content to users.  Similar to ‘knowing your audience’, organizations must segment content based upon visitor types.

Enhance the experience – the visitor experience relates to ease of use, access to relevant content and tools that will help engage, connect and convert customers. Reviewing appropriate navigation, Flash or graphics, web tools or gadgets as well as call-to-action scenarios will enhance the experience and have the visitor coming back for more.

Integrate online and offline strategies – successful organizations have realized that integrating online and offline marketing strategies is the best way to tap into a large customer base and get customers to spend more. Moreover, when an integrated strategic plan is executed for online and offline simultaneously, customers get a single, unified message from the organization that reflects a cohesive brand.

Best

Denice MacDonald 

I recently joined a professional social media networking group and I am very impressed with their latest blog regarding the future of social media. They say, basicially, that we need to watch the evolution of social media very carefully, looking for trends, what’s coming next, what’s likely to bubble up. In reality, they believe that social media is in its infancy. 

In his latest blog, Jim Tobin of Ignite Social Media, provides 5 predictions on the future of social media, ranked from shortest time horizon to longest.

1. Ratings will become an expectation.

2. Content aggregation will boom.

3. New tools will replace some of the first movers.

4. Social networks become portable.

5. Virtual worlds gain traction.

What is the next big push for social media?  My opinion is mobile technology as we become more portable. Likewise, there will need to be greater synergy between networks so that I don't have to recreate profiles or refriend over and over again. Lastly, it will be a challenge to create ongoing engagement and relevancy making content aggregation a top priority.

Resources:

Join Social Media Today - the World's Greatest Thinkers on Social Media and Web 2.0

Ignite Social Media - the Original Social Media Agency

Best,

Denice MacDonald

Recent video metrics are showing that visitors or users of YouTube are no longer geeks, nerds or techno’s.  In fact, recent statistics are showing that YouTube video downloads are being viewed by varying demographics, including an older crowd and business professionals. 

How can you tell who's watching your videos? YouTube now offers a free tool (YouTube Insight) that enables anyone with a YouTube account to view detailed statistics about the videos that they upload.  

For example, uploaders can see how often their videos are viewed in different geographic regions, as well as how popular they are relative to all videos in that market over a given period of time.

You can also delve deeper into the lifecycle of your videos, like how long it takes for a video to become popular, and what happens to video views as popularity peaks.  For now, you can find currently available metrics by clicking under the "About this Video" button under My account > Videos, Favorites, Playlists > Manage my Videos.

YouTube Resources:

Businesses are now realizing the potential of social networking sites like YouTube in using digital formats to engage prospects and customers and elevate recruitment efforts. 

Learn more at these links below. 

• How to get yourself on YouTube, for business or pleasure
• Cisco pumps out some emerging tech products: YouTube for business 
• View YouTube Video: Cisco: The Business Solutions Provider
• YouTube Example Recruitment Video - Recruiting at Aerotek

You've spent a lot of time building up your reputation and image both online and off, so it's important to make sure that someone or something has not jeopardized your brand.

One of the simplest and easiest ways to track your reputation is to use Google Alerts. With this free service, you can search either all of Google's properties, or you can specify that only News, Blogs, Web, Video, or Groups is searched. You can then configure the Alerts results to be emailed to you either as it happens, once a day, or once a week. There is also a page where you can edit the alerts once they are created or delete them when they are no longer in use. 

If making a good name for yourself online is a priority, it's time to take a proactive approach to getting your name out there the way you want.  

BUSINESS SOCIAL NETWORKS – Complete your profile in its entirety and connect with key professionals in your network.

BLOGS – Consider a business blog and one that you contribute to – showing you are a thought leader will aid in elevating you or your products in your industry. Likewise, use blogs to amend or respond to bad hype.

WEB 2.0 PR – Get news interviews, podcasts, webinars with clients 'live' online. Third party testimonials by key constituents regarding your products and services will go a long way in building brand reputation.

LINKING – If you have a web site, consider carefully where and how inbound and outbound links are connected – bad links will reflect poorly on your brand.

SUB-DOMAINS - Add a sub-domain for careers, corporate and/or product info for little or no cost.  Not only will sub-domains elevate your search results but add depth to your reputation.

PPC/ONLINE ADVERTISING – This can only help protect your brand and will help influence visitors to see who is the real website that should be visited.

SEARCH - Take control of the visible results of any search related to your brand. By taking a coordinated approach to search engine optimization, you take greater control of the other nine slots.  

Best,

Denice MacDonald

Online social networking services are becoming more popular each day. From dating, to party invites to social interactions, web sites like MySpace, Facebook and others are growing evidence that online networking is the social norm for consumers -- and now businesses.

Business social networks such as LinkedIn and Plaxo are networks that facilitate business-oriented connections and are playing a critical role in aiding businesses to connect, engage and build relationships.

How?  Each time you add a connection (qualified, by the way), you have increased visibility and access to resources, researchers, entrepreneurs and other 'like' networkers.  Moreover, some of these business networks are transitioning in functionality to enhance the social experience (blog, join groups, respond to question sets, and recruiting/job opportunities). 

How can you put your social network to use?:

Finding great partners - almost like window shopping, social networks allow you opportunities to seek out qualified partners. Depending on the 'degrees' from your existing connections, others can make introductions and facilitate recommendations. 

Reconnecting - social networks allow you to seek out valuable relationships - now and from the past. So-and-so from XYZ Company has now moved to an organization that your company is courting - reconnecting may help 'seal the deal'.

Joining groups - provides access to research, bloggers or other relevant connections to aid you in keeping current. Groups may be local or even global - offering networking beyond the scope of the initial social network. 

Recruiting - LinkedIn, for example, allows you to search histories and CVs in your network — it's great for finding people who work in a particular company, or who have worked with someone you know. It's also an interesting way to find references for people or companies you're getting to know.

Personally, I've received interview requests, forwarded several job offers, and met people who I later ended up meeting face-to-face resulting in a business relationship.  The ability to tune in to "just enough but not too much" has been a key success in business social networking.

For more info, review a prior post from MacDonald Consulting: Business Bonding on Social Networks

Best,

Denice MacDonald

Viral marketing, also referred to as word-of-mouth, is defined as a strategy or set of initiatives that encourages individuals to pass on, communicate or influence market messages and brand to others.

In the old days, you either had to buy expensive advertising or entice the media to tell your story. Unfortunately, many organizations create viral marketing campaigns based on the old rules. The best viral marketing efforts promote your organization and its products and services by delivering great online content (video, a great blog post, discussion forums, an interesting photo or graphic) that is directly tied to your products, services, and company brand. Successful viral marketing campaigns sell your ideas in a creative way that people want to share with their friends, colleagues, and family members.  

According to David Meerman Scott, this isn’t the same old marketing and PR you’ve tried before. 

DON'T:

>Obsess about being “on message.”

>Break the bank with expensive advertising.

>Beg mainstream media to write about you. 

DO:

>Tell your story directly to an interested market.

>Make it easy for people to share your content with their friends, colleagues, and family members. 

Viral marketing can also be applied to recruiting efforts and employee communication.  Reason simply, it’s great to hear about an organization through individuals who have direct experience to share. 

Viral Marketing Resources: 

The New Rules of Viral Marketing by David Meerman Scott 

Six Principles of Viral Marketing Copyright © 2000, 2005, Ralph F. Wilson, E-Mail Marketing and Online Marketing editor, Web Marketing Today.

Best,

Denice MacDonald

If you are looking for the technology to put your video on the web, the variety of choices can be staggering.  That’s because as web video has flourished, so have the number of companies providing the tools to deliver video across the Internet. Large media companies and individual video bloggers can now choose from among multiple firms when looking for a web video product. Many of the technology providers are quite similar and anyone in the market for a web video platform should 'test the waters' and try out the ones that seem like the best fit.  

Web video technology services can be divided into the following categories:

CONTENT MANAGEMENT: The process of ingesting content, moving it around, converting to different files and organizing video properly before it goes online.

PROGRAMMING AND PUBLISHING: The presentation of the video on the web site, including the player and the playlists.

DISTRIBUTION: Delivering the video across the web, to either the main site or to distribution channels and portals.

MONETIZATION: Making money off the video, by integrating advertising or offering video on a download or pay-per-view basis.

REPORTING: Providing analysis and reports on number of views, length of views and other similar data. 

Check out these vendors and resources: 

Dragonfly (world-class multi-media content delivery network)

Kickapps (great for online communities or any type of 'sharing' portal)

Maven (online video advertising)

Magnify (good for both b2c and b2b)

As you know, e-mail was, and still is, the key component of ‘social interaction’ – yeah, it’s not wrapped as nicely as other social networking initiatives but it is still viable as an integral part of the customer/employee communication.  Not only is it affordable, it offers you an opportunity to stay connected – on your terms.

Here are a few great tips from the trenches:

REWARD: Identify e-mail forwarders and reward them – they are your best brand ambassadors.

PERSONALIZE: Personalized images can increase conversion by 50% - especially if a subscriber/recipient’s name is highlighted.

LIST SIZE: The larger the list, the less effective it is – lists typically become obsolete in six months (a big reason to keep up the database).

AUTHENTICATE: Insure that the program and your e-mail/domain meet standards to preclude spam issues or getting black listed - provide instructions on how recipients may add you to their white list.

EASY TO SUBSCRIBE: Create a preference center so subscribers can say how often they'd like to receive emails, what they're most interested in etc.

INCREASE OPEN RATES:  Scrutinize the “Subject Line” within e-mail campaigns.  Reason simply, most recipients (even if they know you!) will react to a subject line with a topic that offers subject matter that is relevant to them. Think long and hard about what that subject line should be.

INCREASE CONVERSION: The actual layout and design of the e-mail itself will determine open rates and ultimately conversion.  Consider less graphics and more text in the upper most portion of the e-mail real estate.  That way, one or two lines of text will appear in the recipients "Preview Pane" -- offering them a quick view of the e-mail content.  

Podcasting complements blogging:

Podcasting is not only user generated content, but user generated content in its most intimate and persuasive forms, it is the sound of your voice, the sound of your music or your captured video. In most cases, podcasting is affordable/free and podcasts are always portable.  Moreover, podcasting is a 'literal voice that complements the virtual voice of blogging" according to Steve Dembo, Teach42: "Why Podcast While You Already Have a Blog?"

If you have something to share – a message, information, or commentary, start with a good podcasting program that can help you create the podcasts you envision. Podcasting software can help you create professional sounding podcasts and facilitates publication to your blog, your web site or a podcast directory. This is more than what audio editing software alone can do; audio editing programs generally do not support tag and feed creation.

Where to start:

I recently completed a podcast software review for a client and found that Podcast Station was the best solution for voicecasting AND professional sounding interviews.  Since the Podcasts are meant to be shared, the publishing wizards help with tag and RSS feed creation. BUT, if you're looking for 'free' open source software supported by Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, and GNU/Linux, consider Audacity - recently named in PCWorld's 'The 100 Best Products of 2008'.

Ahhh...try it out here:

Lastly, Podcast Alley is the podcast lovers portal. Featuring the best Podcast Directory and the Top 10 podcasts, as voted on by the listeners.

As my readers can see, I'm an avid "LinkedIn" social networking participant - not just for exposure, but for all the wonderful resources available.  For example, the web development question resource module is excellent for obtaining information on any subject matter. I recently answered a post for:

What 5 books would you want your web development team members to have read when you hired them?

 There were numerous - and interesting - responses.  Here are a few worth sharing:

1. "The Design of Everyday Things" -- looking at web sites differently increases conversion by Donald Norman
2. "The Tipping Point" -- leveraging web sites from a new point of view
3. "The Long Tail" -- insight into usability and Internet economics
4. "The Cluetrain Manifesto" -- understanding the underlying human dynamics relative to web sites
5. "Getting Real" -- Building faster, easier web applications by 37 Signals
6. "Groundswell" -- Harnessing social technology by Charlene Li
7. "Collective Intelligence: Mankind's Emerging World in Cyberspace" by Pierre Levy

Most of these publications can be acquired through Amazon.com.

By 2012, more than 145 million people—67% of the US Internet population—will be reading blogs at least once a month.

That is up from a readership of 94 million in 2007, or 50% of Internet users. Click graphic for full article.

Caveat > The Ethics of Blogging: 

As we know, blogs are great for search engine optimization - but that should not be the only reason for creating a blog.  A blog is a reflection of your brand and your contribution to customers and other stakeholders.  A 'blog plan' should be formulated to insure that the content that is conveyed is relevant and proper for the end user. 

A plan would include educating management and training employees on creating and posting blogs so that emphase is placed on the organizations' attributes in product, marketing, PR, customer service, research, legal or HR. Likewise, blogs are a great recruiting tool as potential hires have an opportunity to look inside your organization and see the culture first hand.

Bottomline, your go-to-market strategy for blogging should be as well thought out as any significant communication initiative you may have for your organization - or it will diminish your brand and send customers packing.

A new eMarketer report analyzes the opportunities and challenges presented by mobile social networks. 

In summary, the report forecasts that mobile social networking will grow from 82 million users in 2007 to over 800 million worldwide by 2012.

Click here for article (you may need to register but worth the time!)

The Internet, rather than being a great separator, is instead making our lives more and more connected.

New research from Communispace, supporting the hypothesis that people are looking to fulfill six essential social needs online, and drawing on the Maslow hierarchy of human needs, concludes that businesses that help facilitate those needs are more likely to create deeper emotional bonds than usually exist between companies and customers.

In the report by Julie Schlack, Michael Jennings and Manila Austin "Meeting Business Needs by Meeting Social Needs...", the Communispace researchers, building on the work of social scientists, have identified the specific social needs that are met through participating in social networks.

The study addresses "Six Social Needs" and relates them to Online social networks, suggesting that business can take advantage of these observations in creating more affinity with their prospects and customers.

1. Online social networks provide people with the ultimate tool for defining and redefining themselves, as evidenced in profile pages on Facebook and MySpace.
2. The need for autonomy, recognition and achievement are essential to our sense of self-worth and are fulfilled in online communities, blogs, and social networks that provide a way to develop and manage a virtual reputation.
3. People have a need to both seek and provide help to others. Mutual assistance between strangers is a phenomenon that has been uniquely enabled by the Internet.
4. Online communities are becoming the way people find, create and connect with others "just like me" - people who share similar tastes, sensibilities, orientations or interests.
5. A sense of belonging or affiliation alone is not equivalent to a true sense of community. Achieving a real sense of community requires long-lasting reciprocal relationships and a mutual commitment to the needs of the community as a whole.

Communispace referenced its other research on social networking behavior and found that when companies meet the full range of social needs, they gain trust and deep insights into their consumers and community members. And when companies go still further to actively embrace and act on people's ideas they fulfill a sixth social need.

1. People want to be reassured of their worth and value, and seek confirmation that what they say and do matters to others and has an impact on the world around them. Meeting all 5 + 1 of these social needs generally requires the level of intimacy and facilitation that are the hallmarks of smaller, invitation only online communities.

 The study abstract and additional information about Communiscape can be found here. 

Ten Key Online Predictions for 2008

eMarketer has issued predictions for 2008 in key online areas, including those related advertising, videos, social networks, e-commerce and entertainment, saying online advertising will ride out potential economic storms in the US - and YouTube will decide political elections.

The 10 predictions for 2008 according to eMarketer:

1. Online ads remain resilient.
2. Video surge slows.
3. Social-network advertising hits $1.6 billion.
4. Networking goes beyond MySpace and Facebook.
5. YouTube decides the election.
6. Beijing Olympics pumps up ad spending.
7. Buy online, pick up in-store becomes expected feature.
8. Movie downloading hits the mainstream.
9. Music marketers roll out new business models.
10. Dynamic ads heighten gaming revenue potential.

Social Network Usage

Social networking will remain a key online activity, with 44% of US consumers using social networking at least once a month in 2008. While MySpace and Facebook will continue to dominate the market, changes are taking place that will extend social networking activities beyond a single destination site.

Profiles will eventually become portable, meaning consumers need only create one and be able to use it in many places on the web. Widgets that today work with only one social-network site will be designed on an open platform, extending their reach.

Activities such as online shopping, searching and even sending email will be enhanced with social-networking features.  Moreover, much of the social networking strategy can also be applied to B2B applications with intranet scenarios.

For the top social networking sites thru November, click here.

Technology as a business strategy. 

Couldn’t wait to post this real nugget of info on the ramp up of Web 2.0 in review for 2007.  This article is full of applications that leverage ‘technology as a business strategy’. Of interest to me is Google’s introduction of OpenSocial, a set of APIs meant to bridge different social-networking sites for b2c (and Intranets for b2b use).

Web 2.0 applications just keep getting better, gaining the features people expect from traditional desktop applications.

Click here! 

This is a great article on social networking – especially as it applies to the over 30 crowd.  From gen x’ers to baby boomers, this article will give you resources and ideas for your own social networking initiatives. 

Niche Social Networks Vie for Attention

People in their 30s with photos and news to share with family and friends, but no time for strangers, are finding Multiply a good place to stay connected.