CrownPeak Technology's VP of marketing and product strategy reviews some important Web 2.0 capabilities and offers safety tips to help you decide when and how to deploy them.
I think we can all agree that, at this point, the term "Web 2.0" is overhyped. In fact, in my earlier "2007 Predictions" article for iMedia Connection, I said this would be the year that it jumped the shark. I haven't seen this much hype since the last time Brad and Angelina decided to adopt.
As digital marketers, we're being told that we need to (by tomorrow COB) develop a blog, produce podcasts, provide mechanisms to rate our content, accept user comments and create the new mashup of digg/YouTube/del.icio.us and wrap it all in Ajax. And, these days, we can be in such a hurry to implement these new technologies that we forget the fact that they should actually serve some function. In other words, we spend all our time getting the house ready for the party, and we forget to send the invitations.
As stewards of our online messaging -- whether through a website, email campaigns, advertising, blogs, et cetera -- we are faced with a seemingly endless barrage of new technologies. Heck, I plead guilty to suggesting these new technologies to readers of this column and my own customers. Now, many of these new technologies can indeed take our online marketing efforts to the next level. And our customers are going to come to expect these capabilities from us in the near term.
But, just as important is our ability to deliver on the promise of Web 2.0. Don't forget the overarching lessons of Web 1.0 circa 1997 to 2000: Don't build technology just because you can (in fact, you shouldn't really "build" technology ever again, but that's a different article).
Also, don't expect people to come just because you build it. Finally, and most importantly, don't build Web 2.0 technology until you are ready to support it with the effort and, maybe even more importantly, the content it will require.
Let's look at a few Web 2.0 capabilities and some helpful safety tips as you decide when and how to deploy them.
Podcasting
By its very definition, podcasting refers only to "a media file that is distributed over the internet using syndication feeds for playback on portable media players and personal computers." However, the unwritten rule is that podcasts should be updated frequently. For podcasts to be successful, you need to be prepared to produce them on a regular enough basis that whoever is subscribing will see updates often enough to keep subscribing. Publishing one audio file every few months is not a podcast. If you have an audio file (or several) you would like to make available to your website users, by all means publish them out and link them from your website like you would any other media on your site. But don't market your "podcast" until you're really ready to contribute frequently to this.
National Public Radio offers an excellent example of the benefits to podcasting. NPR now makes all of its shows available via podcasts. Available at any time for listener convenience, NPR now has a much larger audience for niche shows like "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me."
Blogs
Blogs have certainly become the buzz du jour on the internet, and have really become a favorite staple for marketers to increase their "content footprint" for their websites. Blogs are an excellent online marketing tool for generating search engine optimization, cross-linking and site expansion. However, before you launch your blog, remember that, not unlike a podcast, your users will expect your blog to change frequently. I'm not suggesting that your blog has to change three times a day, but publishing one post every couple of months is not going to give you the traffic you think it might. When committing to a blog, commit to a regular update and stick to it. Additionally, be prepared for your web users to comment on blog postings, and for you to reply to comments. A blog is a conversation, not a soapbox. Make sure you have the tools to monitor the user-generated content on your blog, and to take action on them.
Torn from recent headlines, Al Roker's blog is an excellent example of the power of the blogoshpere. On the "Today Show" itself, Roker was diplomatic and jovial; yet, in his blog post he called for the firing/resignation of WFAN/MSNBC morning host Don Imus" "He and his morning crew referred to the Rutgers Women's basketball team as, among other things, 'nappy-headed hos.' Ugly racism and sexism at its worst," Roker posted on April 11. His initial blog post received a flood of comments and led to a brief on-air comment.
What he could not say on the air, he wrote in his blog, thereby adding to the user experience and generating a great deal of visitor interaction.
User-generated ratings & content
Giving users the ability to do many things related to the content on your website is growing in popularity. Whether it is rating content in the customer help section, posting comments to articles or generating their own original content, given the opportunity your customers are investing time in your brand and trying to communicate with you. If you aren't ready to affect change on content based on its rating, or respond to user-generated content directly, then don't launch it.
User-generated content is the cream of the crop. One only need to look at the new VH1 show, "Acceptable.TV," to see that a YouTube-like interface of user-generated video is providing content on the television network. The show is also integrated on the network's website, so users rate the content and determine which "episodes" will air the following week.
Upgrading from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0
As pointed out earlier, new technologies can exponentially add to your online marketing efforts. But there are a few things you should consider as you start to plan for these upgrades:
- Consider web content management tools that can manage content both outbound to the website, and inbound from the website. Enabling the content to come into your content management system and integrate with workflow means comments from customers won't get lost in the corporate email shuffle.
- Consider website management solutions that integrate with other best-of-breed site management solutions. This is really the heart of what I like to call, "The 2.0 Business Web." Software delivered as a service (SaaS) plays a role here. But, more importantly, it's about being able to react quickly as new capabilities come up, and not having to replace an entire solution based on one new technology.
- Consider tasking one or more of your internal personnel with being the "voice." Whether it's an executive in marketing, the customer service group or members of the web team, assign an "owner" to the content that's going to need to be generated, edited and published to the website for all of these new Web 2.0 capabilities.
Most importantly, remember: technology is only as good as your understanding of its benefits. Keep your features in check with your capabilities, and never let anyone allow flashy gadgets, terminology or hype to outweigh the basic tenets of good marketing practices. Remember, Web 3.0 is less than 200 days away, and we haven't even started our shopping list yet.
Rob Rose is vice president marketing and product strategy for CrownPeak Technology. Read full bio.