In the previous article, the social media ecosystem realized by Web 2.0 technologies was introduced, in which social media categories were briefly explained. In this article, Overview of Web 2.0 Online World is introduced utilizing an interesting framework in which social media categories introduced in the previous article constitute many of the elements.
Overview of Web 2.0 Online World is introduced from marketing perspective because this is the most logical and practical. As from survey results of McKinsey and others, companies leverage Web 2.0 technologies to benefit in marketing the most. Many other use of Web 2.0 mentioned in the survey such as product development and collaboration with business partners are part of or related to 4Ps of marketing (product, price, place, promotion). Also, HR activities which are also how companies benefit from Web 2.0 (e.g. recruiting, employee engagement) can be said as marketing in the broad sense because such activities are employee marketing. Furthermore, there is an interesting framework of Web 2.0 overview developed from marketing perspective.
This is probably the best concept as far as the author knows to understand the big picture of an organic structure of the Web 2.0 Online World Overview, constituted by website and other elements including social media categories. This depicts well how each element relates one another from marketing ROI (Return on Investment), and this can be of a good reference in planning and executing online strategy.
Website is the core of Web 2.0 world, surrounded by all other elements of Internet that support the website, although there might be a discussion that blog(s) can entirely substitute a website. Blog(s) might substitute a website for online branding and web strategy, for an individual and for small organizations in particular, but an official website is the core of web strategy. This concept is supported by an interesting framework of Web 2.0 Online Marketing ROI developed by Clough (2009), which has a website in the centre.
The website in the first ring or as Clough (2009) says “bulls-eye” is the centre of the Web 2.0 online marketing strategy. In the virtual, Internet world, it is the virtual store/office of the companies and organizations, and it is where business is done to generate revenue and provide the highest ROI. Web design and architecture, page layout, quality and quantity of information, navigation and accessibility, and total web branding are KFS (Key Factors for Success) of websites, and they need to be built from customer-centric way. This means that websites needs to be carefully designed taking into consideration psychology and behaviour of customers online, similarly to designing a store in the real world. In doing so, traditional concept such as AIDMA (Attention, Interest, Desire, Memory, Action) can be applied even though some web consultants may advocate different concepts, which to the author, are application of AIDMA.
The elements located in the second ring (the outer ring of the first ring of bulls-eye) including blogs, SEO (Search Engine Optimization), online press releases, e-mail marketing, pay-per-click advertising and auto responder are the next priority. This is because they are critical to support online activity at the website, and they generate the next highest ROI. Among these elements, blog and SEO were mentioned as social media categories in the previous article.
The elements located in the third ring (outer ring of the second ring) do not mean that they are less important than elements located in the second ring; it simply means that they are in general of smaller ROI. Many of them were mentioned as social media categories in the previous articles (e.g. social networking, video/podcasts, RSS feeds) and many of them provide richer contents than Web 1.0 websites. Furthermore, many of them are very effective in community building and customer engagement, which are the characteristics of social media realized by Web 2,0 technologies, and the importance of these characteristics is continuously increase as the web/Internet marketing evolves. Even the elements that were not mentioned as social media categories are effective online initiative as long as they are carefully designed and implemented, sometimes totally changing how the business is performed (or even a new business model can be realized) from how business is performed in the traditional old economy for successful online business. Affiliate programme is perhaps one of such a good example, along with e-mail marketing located in the second ring.
The author would add some of the social media categories mentioned in the previous article to the framework, such as live casting, virtual worlds, gaming, aggregators and interpersonal in the third ring. She strongly feels that importance of virtual world, gaming and aggregators would increase in the future, especially in entertainment industry, and that its technique and methodology developed may well be applied to other industries and settings such as EC (electronic commerce) and online advertising.
Assuming the framework is that of PC, the author would position mobile as something encompassing the whole of the framework. She also envisions that as interactive TV and its services become established and popularize in the future (in Web 3.0 world), interactive TV would be added as the 16th social media category of the social media ecosystem, which encompasses the whole of the framework mentioned above, similarly to mobile.
In planning and executing web/Internet (marketing) strategy in the Web 2.0 world, social media categories realized by Web 2.0 technologies and other Web 1.0 elements/initiatives need to be strategically selected and effectively and systematically mixed with clear objectives and strategy for synergy and total maximum ROI. Linking mobile with PC online marketing (and with interactive TV in the future) would be inevitable and this trend would surely become more and more vital. Last but not least, online marketing should be aligned with total business strategy of the company/organization, to make synergy with offline initiatives.
The upcoming article is to be about how social media realized by Web 2.0 technologies is changing marketing and business.
References:-
Clough, Mike (2009), Web 2.0 Online Marketing Series – Overview
http://bestbizpractices.org/2009/08/16/web-2-0-online-marketing-series-overview/
McKinsey (2009), How companies are benefiting from Web 2.0: McKinsey Global Survey Results
http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Business_Technology/BT_Strategy/How_companies_are_benefiting_from_Web_20_McKinsey_Global_Survey_Results_2432
Mzinga (2009), Social Media’s Primary Use: Marketing (from Social Software Business Survey)
http://www.marketingprofs.com/charts/2009/161/social-medias-primary-use-marketing
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