Web 2.0 excited me from the first time I read about it. I could see how the various technologies that make up Web 2.0 could be used within an organization to enhance sharing, improve some processes, and more. Called Intranet 2.0 and Enterprise 2.0, it made sense to me. What has stalled me a bit in acceptance is how some organizations are using these technologies to market to external web users in an attempt to grab some market share. In many cases, organizations decide to use blogs, wikis, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. without a strategy or marketing plan.
Similar to an intranet or web site project, the use of Web 2.0 should be planned carefully to be used strategically. Hhhmmm… that sounds like a strategic plan is in order or in the very least – a plan. Here are some suggestions for steps that need to be taken to make your plan strategic:
| Do’s | Don’ts |
| Get a cross functional team together and begin defining the goals and/or objectives (We will call them goals) in using Web 2.0. Ask simple questions like who and why? Who tells you the market you are trying to reach and the why tells you what problem you are trying to solve. | Define goals without tapping the insight of others. |
| Reach out to others in the organization to ask them for their thoughts on goals, etc. This not only improves the goals that are set, but also starts to build buy-in and support for what will be done to meet those goals. | Set goals in isolation from others in the organization. If marketing department sets goals without asking the individuals who have the closest and most direct contact to clients, the result may be very limited. |
| Interview clients to determine if they are using or are aware of Web 2.0. Is their hiring practice to purchase services or products based on information from the Internet? | Assume if you build it, they will come. |
| Learn about all the Web 2.0 technologies that you are considering using before starting your project. | Use the technologies without having some knowledge about how each works |
| Consider how each technology supports your defined goals/objectives. Continue developing answers to questions like what, when, and how. What describes your initiative, when begins the development of a timeline, and how describes the initiative that support each goal. | Use Web 2.0 because everyone else is or because someone person in the organization thinks diving into development without considering goals is a good idea. |
| Develop a project plan for each initiative. | Dive in without a plan. |
| Start with one project (e.g., creating topical blogs) that you have determined to meet the organization’s needs. When it is complete, move along to the next. | Tackle all the projects at once. This strategy creates confusion, pulls resources in too many directions, and does not allow those resources to do their best on each initiative. |
| Use change management techniques to assist those in the organization who will need to change how they think or what they do. Even if the change creates a better mousetrap, people will need to say goodbye to what they know and how they do things before accepting anything new. Change management should be used from the point that the goals are developed all the way through to acceptance by the organization. | Assume everyone will accept what’s new. |
| Celebrate your success with all involved. | Think ‘another day, another dollar’. |
| Continuously evaluate if the goals are being reached and, if not, what needs to be changed. | Sign off on each initiative and think it is done. |
There are plenty of articles and blog posts that describe W 2.0 in one form or another. Some focus on process while others focus on the specifics on how to use each technology. The following have some good tips for using W2b 2.0 in marketing.
Seven Strategies for Marketing in a Web 2.0 World by Darlene Fichter, Marketing Library Services, March/April 2007.
The Secrets of Marketing in a Web 2.0 World by Salvitore Parise, et al, Wall Street Journal Business, December 15, 2008. The focus is on consumers instead of business to business but it is still worth a read.
For a book on the subject, check out Web 2.0: A Strategy Guide: Business thinking and strategies behind successful Web 2.0 implementations, O’Reilly Media, April 2008.
Finally, Jaye Lapachet and Camille Reynolds have posted their Internet Librarian presentation with a focus on law libraries on Slideshare. The embedded slides follow:
Although I wear the LookUp Precision product manager hat in addition to the consulting I do for firms and other vendors, I have no intention of using this blog as a means to pitch LookUp Precision (except for ads you may see on the page once in a while). That said, I have do have to make a comment about a quote in a recent article in the ABA Journal Law News Now, Your Law Librarian Is Watching: ‘Hot Stuff’ Tracking Software Can Cut Costs, as I expect that many of you will read the article and not the comments I made below it.
The article originally stated that a ballpark price for LookUp Precision is $100,000. After talking to the author, the article has been corrected to say:
A ballpark cost to track 1,000 different databases, according to one librarian who is considering LookUp Precision, is about $100,000 a year. (Nina Platt, product manager for LookUp Precision, says the $100,000 figure is inflated and “grossly incorrect,” but did not agree to publicize more specific prices in an interview with the ABA Journal.)
My comments left with the article are as follows:
- Comment made before article was changed: I am the product manager for LookUp Precision. The ballpark price you listed for LookUp is grossly incorrect. That number is many times the price currently being paid by our clients. Please make a correction. I can only guess that the number came from one of our competitors who has been known to make incorrect statements about LookUp Precision’s cost and functionality.
- Comment made after the article was changed: LookUp Precision is not priced by number of databases tracked. Rather it is tracked by number of unique users within a month. If a user accesses one database during that month, he is tracked once. If he accesses another database or returns to the same one he has used, he is not tracked again. We are willing to share the pricing information for any interested firm but not in a public forum.
Being new to this vendor thing , I have been very surprised at how some vendors act. I may be naive but I would not stoop to make incorrect statements about a competitor. As I said in my comment above, I can only guess that a competitor provided the costs mentioned as the numbers would have never come from the LookUp Precision team. I value direct honest communication and only know how to operate in that way. What I’ve learned in the last few months is that one of our competitors does not hold the same values. Very frustrating.
I’m stepping off my soap box now and calming down as best I can. Thanks for listening.
-
Subscribe
