A brief look at Web 2.0

How social networking is taking the Internet local. Or, Localize the Groundswell.

2009

Sharemarketing.wordpress.com (my blog)

My Employer

The promise of the Internet

• Before the internet, marketing was based on the physics of geography.

• In the same way we dated people, ads were based on geography. We bought local media properties because that’s where the customers were.

The promise of the Internet

Web 1.0 – a little history

• When it all began, the web was information-based. People went to websites for information (and many of us put up online brochures)

• Brands offered information. Some enterprising types offered a place to buy product; remember click’s and mortar?

Web 1.0

• Places like the New York Times delivered content. We sent e-mail jokes.

• It was a monologue approach to a dialogue medium.

Web 1.0

• As said, websites were bastions of information (about us, company history, team, timelines, advisory board, kid’s names, birthdays).

• Internet space is infinite, so why not fill it?

• If I’m Joe’s Pizza, the bigger I make my website, the bigger I seem…

• Lets put the whole catalog up there!

• And let people interact.

Web 1.0

• So we asked for dialogue.

And the bubble bursts

This is Web 2.0

• The difference

• Instead of a website (updated by someone you pay)

• You can have a digital presence, updated by your fans (and by you, to whatever level you wish to engage)

• BTW, everything you’re about to see are things some of our clients pay us to do. It’s just a lot less than a website.

Web 2.0

• Web 2.0 was coined by O’Reilly Media in the early 00’s.

• Some important things happened.

• Websites that were online brochures were pretty boring. Once people went, they rarely came back.

• But websites that created a community encouraged people to return to it. Websites that encourage people to return are profitable. Google made it profitable to get eyeballs.

Time. October 13, 2007

Web 2.0

• Web 2.0 as a community. It isn’t a message to a consumer, it’s a consumer interaction.

• And it’s not a fad.

• “Social Networking sites are officially more popular than porn sites”.*

• 53% of all people online are members of a social network.

Web 2.0

• Wikipedia has 4,000,000 articles.

• YouTube has more than 1,000,000,000 videos.

• There are perhaps as many as 200,000,000 blogs.

• Facebook has 160,000,000 active users.

• StumbleUpon, a site you might never have heard of, has 7,000,000 people.

Web 2.0

• Again, so what?

• Why should you care about all of these?

Social Networks

Why does Social Networking matter?

• People trust the recommendations of other consumers more than they trust your ads.

• They especially trust the people they have things in common with. ie, live in same neighborhood/city.

• And they realize that they can use social media sites to get opinions, voice opinions, and get recommendations about your company.

• With or without you.

What is a social network?

• Before we look behind the logos, lets quickly see what’s different here.

TRADITIONAL MEDIA DIGITAL MEDIA

One way, brand speaking Two way / a conversation

Focused on the brand Focused on the consumer

Brand in control Consumer in control

Repeating the message Adapting the message

Entertaining Involving

Brand created content User created content / Co-creation

Space defined by Media Owner Space defined by Consumer

Social Networks

#1 Facebook

• Facebook is one of the best known social networks. I’ve stopped adding #’s to this presentation because every time I do it, they’ve doubled in size.

• Facebook is a social network based on the premise of connecting people who already know people online.

• It’s easy to connect to anyone in my geographical network (in my case, Buffalo). It’s hard to connect outside of my network.

• Facebook offers a local advantage

Facebook

Facebook Page

• Facebook offers brands a tool called Pages. Pages are a free presence on Facebook for people to engage with a brand.

• Here are some examples:

Facebook Page

• Facebook Pages

Facebook

• The brilliance of Facebook for marketers is the concept of local. Neighborhood.

• People will associate with local brands on Facebook because we’ll crafted brands say something about someone’s personality.

• The local pub. The local store. If you think of a Facebook Fan as Your Best Customer, this is a forum to let your best customers tell their friends about how great you are.

Twitter

Twitter

• Twitter is a micro-blogging platform that lets people update their networks on the minutia of life. In 140 characters or less

• Think about it this way: there are a lot of brands that are part of the everyday life of people. “Going to Taste of Syracuse.” “Going to the Tusk for a beer.”“Heading to Dino for dinner.” “Heading to Wescott for a night out.”

Twitter

• If your brand is part of people’s lives, then it can be part of their twitter life.

• Visit search.twitter.com and see. It gives you real-time updates of what people are saying about your category, brand, product, service.

• At worst, a search for Syracuse will show you the community of people you could attract.

Twitter

• This issearch.twitter.com

Wikipedia

Wikipedia

• People sign on. People interact. People police the place, checking updates, etc.

• In other words people take pride in the place. That’s the essence of a an online world. Or network.

• And they take pride in having the information be Wikipedia accurate, which doesn’t mean true*.

Wikipedia

• Is your company there?

• Should it be? Wikipedia is one of the highest things that pops up in Organic Google Search.

• BTW, it’s Wikipedia’s official policy that you or your agents can’t update or create your own Wikipedia page.

• So offer a customer a free big ticket item to get in there.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a business social network.

• LinkedIn is the business social network.

• It’s honestly one of the best ways to get jobs and connect to people in your industry.

• If you have a retail outlet, there’s a good chance LinkedIn has a group of people like you talking about your business.

• It’s the worldwide networking tool.

Yelp

Yelp

• Think of Yelp as a local search engine. I recommend going home and searching for your company on Yelp in Syracuse.

• If it’s there, read reviews by people.

• If it’s not, ask your best customers to review it. Make a sign at the register: “Like our business? Review it on Yelp.com.”

Yelp

Yelp

• “But what if someone says something bad?”

• What if someone writes that your service was bad. Your food was bad. Your handiwork was bad.

• Wouldn’t you want to know and address it?

• Isn’t this a great chance to respond?

• Control your part, and the reviews will be good.

Meet Google

Google is a tool

• You type something in, and it returns to you the most relevant thing for you.

• Every day, they spend millions trying to make it work better.

Google

• About a month ago, while working on an Atlanta client, I decided to test Google. I typed in “Preschool”

• That’s what the potential customer would do

Google

• Note the first question:

Google and Maps

• Maps are a legitimate return for many of the Google searches people do in Syracuse.

• Honest dry cleaner.

• Doggy day-care.

• Cheap Lunch.

• And there’s opportunity.

Google Maps

Google Maps

User Ratings on Google Maps

• This is called user rating

• Have people rated youon Google?

• Did you know you can geo locate your company?

Your website

• This is slide 54. Shows you where I see your website in Web 2.0.

• Still, if you have one, keep it. Geo tag it with zips in your meta tags, and things you think your customers would want. Use it as the link people follow from all these things.

• Don’t let it be an online brochure. Link to Yelp reviews. Show off your Twitter feed. Promote your Facebook page. Turn your site into your social hub.

Your website

• If you don’t have a website, bless you.

• I think there are too many.

• There aren’t enough social hubs that help people connect across communities.

This is how a huge brand does it

This is how I do it

My website

• Hosting cost: $0

• Designer cost: $0

• Cost to add new pages: $0

• Wordpress social hub: Priceless.

My website

• Wordpress is a blogging platform.

• But don’t get caught up in the word blog.

• Blog means weblog. Log comes from the idea that one day, the captain will update people about the trip.

• What business doesn’t want to update someone?

So what now?

• Good question. I suggested you:

• Start a Facebook page.

• Search Twitter to see if you are part of people’s day. If you are, start a twitter feed and follow them.

• Create a LinkedIn Profile.

• Check Yelp. Check maps.google.com.

So what now?

• Encourage content.

• Find content, good or bad.

• Amplify the good.

• Address the bad.

So what now?

• In other words, create a digital presence for your brand that is optimized for local communities looking to search for you.

• And the best part?

• Your only investment is time.

Further reading – Questions

• This presentation is available at

http://www.slideshare.net/EricMowerandAssociates