Develop the Web Culture of Your Organization

As Internet Marketing Strategists much of our time is still dedicated to administrative functions, form management, web editing and not to strategizing. The tasks that produce higher value for organizations, such as helping departments assess needs, implementing new Internet Marketing strategies and developing Social Media policy seem to be put on the back burner when a phone number needs to be changed throughout a Web site.

This is frustrating when today’s Content Management systems, Internet Marketing tools and Social Media applications are as easy to use as Word and easier to use than Excel. But, most Marketing Communications Professionals, Business Mangers and Support Staff are reluctant to cross what they perceive as the ‘digital divide’ – anything Internet related.

Marketers need to realize that as print and other forms of mass advertising are displaced by online sources their skill set needs to include digital strategies. Web Content, Internet Marketing and Social Media responsibilities need to become a normal part of marketing communications positions. Integrating the offline campaign with the online campaign will be essential and need not be the sole responsibility of the ‘Web Master’.

Organizations that still silo off online applications to the digital communications department are not flexible enough to the rapidly changing media and e-business landscape. Competitors that understand the need for the whole organization to adopt a web culture and include web literacy in their basic core competencies are going to fast outpace those organizations that ignore this trend.

And, this is not limited to businesses and non-profits, all media outlets (print, TV, radio) need to explore more entrepreneurial ideas, develop a spirit of innovation and learn to right their businesses like other industries have done when new technologies or economic changes threaten their existence. For example, journalists should learn how to embrace new technologies such as e-newspapers, mobile delivery and Twitter, instead of worrying when the print edition is going to be obsolete and what they can do to reverse the trend.

So what’s the first step in advancing the web culture of your organization? First find where people are at. Conduct a baseline survey of web use throughout your organization. Those of us steeped in online communication assume a lot about what people already know. Here are a few suggested action steps:

•  Basic web terminology should be the first new and required core competency for everyone in the organization.
• Make each department responsible for their online content. Ask them to put together a schedule for updates instead of asking the Internet Marketing Strategist to do it for them. 
• Assign individuals in the department a responsibility for testing and verification when a new application is being deployed that benefits them.

When Internet tools become a common part of the overall discussion as a department is assessing the need for a new business process or strategy then you know the organizational culture has shifted in the right direction. And, your Internet Marketing Strategist will know the culture has changed for the better when he/she is no longer the one fixing all the typos.

Respectfully submitted: Teresa Miller

– Tell us about experiences you’ve had in improving the Web Culture of your organization.

– What are some action steps you’ve taken or would like to take in your organization to advance Web literacy?

Jump in Already!

I’ve been part of recent debates on whether to join the social media space, or just dip a toe in and test the water first. I can remember very similar debates in 1995 and 1996 from different camps regarding building Web sites. “It takes so much time, how many resources should we devote, what’s the impact, results?…” By 1997 and 1998 everyone was clamoring to establish a Web presence. Sure there was the .com bubble. But, look where we are now and how the Web has matured. It seems almost ludicrous now that we even questioned jumping in the water. And, the social media channels now are at a similar nascent stage that the ‘World Wide Web’ was back in 1995.

For example, while I agree Twitter is emerging and has not reached a critical mass. Twitter has been a good resource for very brief status updates or staying up-to-date on announcements from blog posts, industry information, organizations and businesses. I enjoy the media and entertainment tweets from favorite channels, news outlets, shows, musicians and comedians. I could see it being useful for following the latest deals at my most visited e-Commerce sites (eBay, Amazon) and brick retailers/restaurants (Meijer, Starbucks). But, many of my most frequented businesses and organizations aren’t tweeting yet. When local fast food restaurants, gas stations, schools, fitness clubs, churches and grocery stores start sending out tweets more people will find it more useful.

Like with Web pages, those were once just online brochures and now they are highly valuable transactional and transformational business tools. Once social media stop being used as one-way channels, or just for gathering intelligence about a product, service or industry, and recognized for the opportunity to build relationships, we may start seeing more social media transactions, transformational business processes and the use of social media venturing into new and valuable directions.

So where do you start? I think one can apply a lot from our previous experience as developers of Web sites. Start like you would with any good planning process. What are your key business strategies? What strategies can social media support and how? How can you integrate social media not only with your marketing and communications tools, but what other business processes? Set goals for your social media activities. Measure these activities and report results.

While never loosing sight of the big picture, yearly plans, quarterly goals and monthly results are required. Then push to fiscal week planning and tracking the number of interactions daily. Remain flexible and experiment. The landscape is evolving quickly. Soon there will be even more ways to connect, technology will become even more integrated and more measurable. Many large businesses are already reporting large impacts from social media. Small business shouldn’t be hesitant to enter the space.

Oh, and PLEASE stop listening to and retelling the social media horror stories. There’s a horror story to go with every channel, social media is not different. You’re only showing how naive you are about new media when you tell me about how a friend of a friend lost a job because of something he/she posted on Twitter, facebook or YouTube. Protect yourself by having a social media policy in place. If you are already a successful business, have a well-developed brand identity and the people posting for you are experienced and loyal to your brand guidelines, you won’t look all wet.

Respectfully submitted: Teresa Miller

– Have you had a social media project or campaign that produced some surprising results? If so, tell us about it.

– Do you  have a social media policy? If so what are some its key components?