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Internet Guru Tim O’Reilly refers to Web 2.0 as “an architecture of participation”. In an era where Web 2.0 is perhaps one of the most over-defined terms around, O’Reilly’s summation gets right to the point.
For all that is said about the 2.0 world, it has led to a staggering degree of innovation. There are startups mushrooming almost every day (every hour?) with sometimes compelling new ideas or simply a new twist to existing ones, but all with the same goal – to drive participation. How does an organization built in the 1.0 (or previous) age adapt to this? For an audience that is accustomed to the kind of user experience on Flikr or Blogger, a company Web site without some degree of possible interaction can appear archaic. This audience demands an interface that looks good, is easy to use, simple to navigate, and allows them to do something with the content they see.
In many ways, Web 2.0 is about crowds. Instances of companies actually relying on consumers to develop ideas and even products abound. There is, apparently, much to be said about the ‘wisdom of crowds’; Wikipedia is a strong example. Clearly the crowd is ready and willing to contribute and speak its mind. The challenge is managing this, and using the new wave of social marketing to create strong networks and lasting relationships. While this world promises unlimited opportunities, it also throws up multiple challenges.
There are clearly several ways to approach this, and this white paper cannot address them all. Specifically, this white paper explores the advantages of building strong online communities, the challenges of maintaining such communities, and how a CMS can help marketing professionals easily add features that drive user experiences to new heights.
It’s All about Users
The 2007 Pew Internet and American Life Project released a study that showed 57% of 12- to 17-year olds online (that’s 12 million individuals) are creating content of some sort and posting it online.
Web 2.0 is all about users. Web sites have to provide the freedom to tweak, reorganize, add and customize content in ways that users want. Indeed, many 2.0 cyber spaces are only about user-created content – like YouTube, for example. This culture of participation and dialogue can be leveraged by organizations to extend the reach of their brands far beyond what can be achieved by conventional means.
‘Word-of-mouth’ has always been regarded as a good way to build brand loyalty. The 2.0 world has now made it possible to extend word-of-mouth to a staggering number of users – a far bigger audience than that reached by traditional advertising. Progressive companies in this era are, therefore, scrambling to set up blogs, podcasts, discussion forums and online communities to build informal dialog with existing and potential customers.
The participatory Web clearly has a lot going for it:
Top-down communication has been replaced by multi-linear flows of information, which can add relevance and value to existing information.
Users no longer want to be fed information – they demand a rich experience; providing a unique experience that delivers value in unprecedented ways to consumers can put an organization well ahead of the competition.
In order to adapt to these levels of collaboration, several creative business models have emerged.
Communities play a crucial role in this collaboration. Participating users can bring in fresh content, build networks, and discuss thoughts with other users. Brand ‘champions’ – individuals who strongly promote a product or service simply because they believe in it, can fuel acceptance and adoption.
Challenges of Maintaining Balance in a Dynamic World
By its very nature, open communication is hard to monitor and control. While technology today allows organizations to easily build online communities or networks, these social media can present significant challenges in management.
Problem#1: Communities built unguided, without clear mandates
Enthusiastic business leaders from your company may build networks or online communities to connect with custom-ers. However, unguided, and with no clear mandate or guidelines from the group, you soon have a situation where different business units post different sets of messages about your brand. While you may have increased user partici-pation, brand value may be diluted as the customer gets different sets of messages from different business units.
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