Web 2.0 why use it?
In the current economic climate, when organisations are faced with tighter marketing budgets, they are starting to think “outside the box” and consider alternative marketing solutions such as the one offered by web 2.0 technology (blogs, wikis, RSS feeds, social networking sites). But is this an effective way to drive productive traffic - or just a must-have gizmo?
A study by marketingExperiments.com shows ‘a 12 months study in Social Media Optimisation (SMO) generates a 1.427% (and counting) better ROI than Paid Search’. Click on this link to learn more: www.marketingexperiments.com/ppc-seo-optimization/social-media-optimized.html
First off, resist the temptation to start mass publishing your content online, as this will only lead you to being branded as a ‘social media junkie’. It’s much better to do a bit of research first.
The main purpose is link building. It’s about making it easy for your existing visitors to ‘share’ the content already on your website by presenting them with some options. A simple way to get started is to follow these steps:
- Add RSS Feeds (especially on latest news, events, podcasts & publications pages).
- Include a Del.icio.us/Digg this/Facebook button (there are many more bookmarking sites to choose from; these are only a few examples).
- Put a LinkedIn URL on partners biog/profile pages (also worth putting on your email signature).
- Add your events to a LinkedIn event Calendar.
- Consider Blogging (adds a bit of personality to your website and gives you the opportunity to cross-reference).
- Incorporate community functionalities of third-party sites such as the Flickr photo galleries and slides or the YouTube video. Just remember to add keywords and a link to your website.
If you look at it another way it is almost like your website visitors are like bees spreading pollen from flower to flower!
Please note that because you put content on a webpage it does not ensure lots of hits; the quality of the content is paramount. Remember that people tend to ‘scan read’ content on the web, so make it easy for people to get the important points. Also don’t forget always to link back to your website.
If you’d like help determining which Web 2.0 technologies are most appropriate for your website audience, please contact one of the Intendance team.
Suggestions for further reading:
Web 2.0, bottom line for legal profession – Intendace Research
Web 2.0 – the new email? – Intendance Research
What makes good website content – Intendance Research
RSS Feed - Intendance Research
