Lincoln - Mastering Web 2.0: transform your business using key website and social media tools

Publishers note

Every possible effort has been made to ensure that the information contained in this book is accurate at the time of going to press, and the publishers and author cannot accept responsibility for any errors or omissions, however caused. No responsibility for loss or damage occasioned to any person acting, or refraining from action, as a result of the material in this publication can be accepted by the editor, the publisher or the author.

First published in Great Britain and the United States in 2009 by Kogan Page Limited

Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms and licences issued by the CLA. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside these terms should be sent to the publishers at the undermentioned addresses:

Susan Rice Lincoln, 2009

The right of Susan Rice Lincoln to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

ISBN 978 0 7494 5466 1

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Lincoln, Susan Rice.

Mastering Web 2.0 : transform your business using key website and social media tools / Susan Rice Lincoln

p. cm.

ISBN 978-0-7494-5466-1

1. Internet marketing. 2. Viral marketing. 3. Web 2.0. 4. Electronic commerceSocial aspects. I. Title.

HF5415.1265.L57 2009

658.8'72--dc22

2008053903

Mastering
Web 2.0

Transform your business using
key website and social media tools

Susan Rice Lincoln

London and Philadelphia

To Chloe and Gabriella:
your energy, your laughter and your love are forever an inspiration

And for my mother:
the world is less bright without you

Making sense of Web 2.0: Weaving the confusing fragments into a strategic whole

When this book comes out, it will be 2009. Google will have just turned 10. Amazon is a blockbuster site. YouTube is a phenomenon. Facebook is the favourite daily companion of thousands of people.

But for the handful of success stories out there, there are millions and millions of companies, websites and internet experiments that are floundering in cyberspace ineffectual, dormant or spinning around in utter confusion.

Why? Why is it that so few have really been able to successfully capture the power of the internet? Why have so many individuals and companies been unable to make sense of it all?

The answer is that most of us lack a strong strategic sense of where we want to go. We are confused by the myriad of options. We grasp at straws. We scramble around trying to make sense of fragments tactics, tools, random ideas rather than grasping the big picture. We desperately need to understand how our companies and our products can communicate effectively, cohesively and holistically.

But for the moment we are stuck with the fragments.

Our media world is in fragments. Many of our offline media choices dont work as well as they used to. As for our online choices, we are unclear which ones to use or if any of them really work. Many internet tools are seductive but we dont really get how they can add to our bottom line. As consumers exert more control over the information they listen to and create, we arent totally sure where we fit in.

Our audience is also in fragments. They are all over the place. For starters, our consumers are much more splintered in their viewing habits than ever before. But even more importantly, consumers ie everyone are fragmented in their attention. Attention scarcity is the new buzzword of the 21st century. Almost everyone today is drowning, awash with information overload. We all take in much more than we are capable of digesting. The sheer volume of stimuli has us all struggling. So it is hardly surprising that it is more and more difficult to get our messages heard above the din.

Because our budgets are tighter, we cant be everywhere at once. So instead we are nowhere.

Probably most dangerous is that our overall understanding of what is happening around us is also in fragments. We may think we understand the internet and the newer Web 2.0 tools. But we read about these things in bits and pieces: an article about social networking here, a comment about the strengths of blogs there. Interesting ideas. Captivating thoughts. But it is difficult to get a broad perspective on the social media terrain. Almost impossible to grasp our communications options in a solid, simple, streamlined way.

I wrote this book to bring the fragments together. I wrote this book so that you as an individual entrepreneur or a large company can use the internet not just as a technological tactical tool but as a strategic communication powerhouse which will drive your sales and your customer relationships to new heights. I wrote this book because I did not believe that the simple, straightforward story of the internet today had been told or told well.

At the end of the book I provide you with a strategic tool the Web Wheel which will help you begin to understand how you can put the pieces of the puzzle together. The Web Wheel is there to help you make informed decisions. To create intelligent, strategic and holistic choices for your marketing programme.

There is an additional, final point I would like to emphasize. We are all in love with technology and what it offers us. But after gorging myself on infinite blogs, websites, social networking sites, viral marketing campaigns and podcasts, a very important thought dawned on me.

In our giddiness about technology, we have forgotten one very important point. At the end of the day it is not the technology that is important. What is important is what that technology allows us to do which is to communicate better. The better we communicate to our consumer, the more we can ultimately sell. And selling more to the right target audience is the ultimate point we are trying to reach.

Communications and selling are the key words. Not technology.

This book therefore is about the changing world of communication. As a company even if you are only an individual you compete against endless other companies in your daily quest to stand out. Over their deafening cries, you must make an invincible mark on the world in which you live and compete.

Keep a clear eye on the goal, which is not to master tools but to communicate better and in a more authentic way.

Lift your head above the fray.

And you will find your clear, unique and convincing voice in the din.

The potential your potential is immense.

Strip the fragments away.

Embrace what the internet can do for you today and into the future.

Pearl-like possibilities in an old/new world: Managing your options as you create your web strategy