Web Watch 2.0

SURE, THERE'S A LOT OF buzz about Web 2.0. But no one agrees on what it really means. Some say it's a new technology. Others, a social movement. Still others say it's just the dot-com boom all over again, but this time, it's less bubble-like and more businesslike.

The best definition of Web 2.0 I've found is this: The next generation of online services delivered through the Web. Most observers agree that Web 2.0 is characterized by a shift of power from Web publishers to Web users, and that we're moving closer to the utopian vision for the Internet where the network is the platform, and all involved have equal access.

What does all this mean for marketers? In the B-to-B world, it's pretty interesting. The features of Web 2.0 — blogs, podcasts, wikis, RSS feeds and social networks — are rapidly becoming an accepted part of the B-to-B marketing tool kit.

However, they require special handling. Let's look at how these things are working — and how they can get you into trouble if you're not careful.

BLOGS

By some estimates, there are already more than 50 million blogs. Who has time to read this stuff? Only a small fraction of blogs are read in any volume, and most aren't even kept current by their owners.

Much has already been written on blogging in general, so let's focus on the best applications in B-to-B marketing. Here are some useful angles if you're thinking about conducting a blog from your company:

• Public relations

  Blogs establish thought leadership. Even better, 53% of business buyers say blogs influence their purchase decisions, according to a recent study from KnowledgeStorm and Universal McCann.

• Search engine marketing

  Blog postings freshen a Web site, attracting higher organic results listings on search engines.

• Lead generation

  Blog readers and responders serve as sources of new business contacts. Robert Lesser, president of Direct Impact Marketing, recently found that blogs got a 12% share among responders who named the most user-friendly and affordable tools they actively use for lead generation.

• Market research

  Blogs provide low-cost insight into customer needs and issues.

Blog advertising is still in its infancy. Many B-to-B blogs accept banner ads, and others have Google AdWords listings in place. In the meantime, the best approach is to have a PR mindset. Bloggers want to learn about interesting items to write about, but they hate being manipulated. So when trying to influence them, go in with a respectful and helpful attitude. Ted Birkhahn of PR firm Peppercom suggests testing the waters by reading the blogs in your field, and adding non-sales comments to posts. Once you have a feel for the environment, then experiment with your own blog.

PODCASTING

Podcasting already is in wide use among business marketers. Podcasts, which deliver a snippet of downloadable audio, are taking their place alongside e-mail, telephone, PDF downloads and the many other touch options that B-to-B marketers use to move customers and prospects along the sales cycle. The more variety to the touch stream the merrier.

The predominant use of podcasts among business marketers is to deliver product information or establish thought leadership, with a short discussion or interview on a business problem of interest.

I had the fun of being interviewed for a podcast recently on the subject of trade show and event marketing by Toronto marketing services firm Eloqua. According to Steve Gershik, director of marketing innovation, Eloqua's podcast strategy is intended to position the company as a thought leader, and as a group of marketing professionals “authentically interested in advancing the conversation about effective marketing.” Gershik notes with satisfaction that Eloqua recently closed a $750,000 deal that was “directly affected by” his podcast and blog program.

Just keep in mind that the podcast is a passive medium, dependent on users' motivation to visit your site and go to the trouble of downloading the audio material. So you'll need to factor in the additional expense to promote the podcast itself. On the plus side, podcasts are very inexpensive to produce.

WIKIS

What can be done with wikis to find new customers or promote your products? Not much, so far. If you didn't know, Wikipedia is the grandfather of this type of media. The online encyclopedia is written and edited by anyone who registers at the site and feels inclined to contribute. Some marketers have been accused of writing bogus self-promoting entries, but these are quickly identified and corrected by the horde of Wikipedia denizens, accompanied by abundant negative commentary in the blogosphere.

There are some firms out there that offer wiki writing services. MyWikiBiz.com, for example, will create or enhance the Wikipedia entry on any firm that hires it — as long as the firm is “notable” enough to justify a Wikipedia entry in the first place. Gregory Kohs, the corporate history writer who founded MyWikiBiz, points out that Wikipedia is “an excellent tool for enhancing and clarifying the marketplace's perception of a firm, and for providing cross-referencing links to related topics — either within Wikipedia, or to the company's own Web site.” He cautions, however, that the links need to be selected judiciously, and refer only to highly informative and useful content — or you risk being permanently banned from Wikipedia. Kohs also observes that the wiki-type markup language, as an alternate to HTML, may bring some value to marketers looking to create Web site content in a more flexible, participatory manner.

RSS FEEDS

RSS, which allows fresh content to be streamed to subscribers as it is produced, has the hallmarks of a productive direct marketing medium. Once you invest in signing up subscribers, you have a new, automated and very low-cost channel for staying in touch and keeping current. RSS also is said to be a useful way to get information out in a world where corporate spam filters block so much e-mail.

But the RSS adoption curve appears to be slower than some of the other Web 2.0 media. The KnowledgeStorm-Universal McCann study found that among tech buyers — those you'd expect to be early adopters — only 31% said they subscribe to or use RSS readers. This compares with 80% who said they read blogs. RSS is in its early stages, but shows signs of great promise as a delivery vehicle for breaking news or offers to committed customers and prospects.

SOCIAL NETWORKS

Some sizable social networks for businesspeople have sprung up, including LinkedIn and Ecademy. But the jury is still out on how they can be used effectively in B-to-B. Here's some of the applications marketers are experimenting with:

• Business development

  Perhaps the most immediate benefit of these networks is in personal selling. LinkedIn, for example, encourages individual businesspeople to leverage the network to connect with others who have connections with particular companies or lines of business. In fact, firms like Jigsaw and Spoke combine social networking with cooperative list development, allowing sales reps to contribute and collect contact information on sales targets.

• Viral marketing

  Social networks take word-of-mouth marketing to the next level. Asking a current customer for a referral is the lowest-cost source of new customers you can get.

• Market research

  Communispace creates Web-based communities of customers and prospects for HP, CDW and other firms, using a combination of social networking and good old-fashioned consumer panel techniques that allow marketers to get deep customer insight and feedback about products, services…the works.

• Collaboration

  Mutual cooperation is finding its way into businesses to make information sharing possible. Social network services provider YFonGlobal, for example, is working with a military contractor to allow employees in the field to share encrypted files over a secure network.

RUTH P. STEVENS ([email protected]) consults on customer acquisition and retention, and teaches marketing to graduate students at Columbia Business School. She is the author of “The DMA Lead Generation Handbook” and “Trade Show and Event Marketing.”

Things to Remember

• Wear your PR hat when considering Web 2.0 opportunities. Go for thought leadership vs. marketing-speak. Use a conversational style. Talk about your category — or your customer's issues — instead of hyping your own business.

• Remember that customers have more control than ever, so corporations must become flexible enough (or confident enough) to withstand public input and feedback.

• Many Web 2.0 applications are even more effective in internal communications than they are with customers and prospects.

• Newer, even less-proven Web 2.0 apps are coming up fast. Like video: In June, CMP Media launched a daily video broadcast to tech buyers on its IT news network TechWeb, and ad spots have sold like hotcakes.

• Web 2.0 is all about customer involvement. Don't fight it, embrace it. This is about letting customers help you shape and expand your business.

• This stuff is still in the early stages of development. So experiment. Get your feet wet. And enjoy the challenge of keeping up with the ever-evolving Internet. — RPS