Web 2.0. Creating an online community

Bridget Kendrick, web marketing manager

17th January 2007

What is Web 2.0?

The world wide web was invented as a tool to enable 2-way communication between academics and provide access top free information and data

The inventor, Sir Tim Berners-Lee believes Web 2.0 will finally realise these aims

Definitions include:

Web your way

Taking word of mouth to the next level

Collective contribution

We’ll come to you..

Utilises technologies such as:

RSS

Ajax

Wikis

mash-ups

blogs

What sites are web 2.0.?• Myspace• Youtube• Flickr• Del.icio.us• Wikipedia• Google Notepad• TripAdvsor

But more and more brands are integrating web 2.0. technology onto their sites to facilitate tw0-way communications with their customers

Brands are also partnering with other brands to deliver the technologies

But what can it do for marketers?

• Marketers can facilitate community-based collaboration via services such as forums, lists and blogs to widen brand advocates’ social networks with like-minded people give people a reason to come to your site above others

• Improve organic SEO rankings

• Control brand messages in an increasingly fragmented market 2-way communications with customers and allows you to act on them – good or bad

• Can push your information to others rather than relying on people to visit your site

So what are people doing?

• Web 2.0. world means that people are out there talking about your brand and linking to your websites whether you like it or not.

• Thomson Holidays have accepted this and are using web 2.0. to manage this as part of their online strategy

Searching for Thomson on google finds comments good and bad

Web 2.0. on the Thomson site

Using web 2.0 Thomson are providing inspiration to create the perfect holiday

• Videocasts

• Blogs

• Web chats

• Maps

• Weather

Getting the message out there…

• Thomson Holidays have added holiday videos on YouTube and Google video

• This allows ratings and comments to be made on the brand and its products

Creating brand advocates

Click2Quit.com – Niquitin

• This site is all about placing the brand at the heart of quitting smoking

• It has resources for quitters and professionals

• Blogs, videos, bad day flags, discussion boards and gentle links to the products

• It aims to create brand advocates and own the space it operates in

They don’t come to you anymore….

Del.icio.us • An ‘aggregator site’

• I can’t be bothered to trawl through 1000’s of sites I’ll go to one and see what’s going on. I’ll set up a homepage with links, feeds and content to my favourite sites and then I’ll share them with like-minded people

• Aggregated data means content is pulled to visitors rather than pushed from websites

• Also known as RSS feeds

Pitching it just right….

Joga.com• Nike used this url in their world cup advertising, allows them to focus on global

football in a ‘dress-down’ Friday way.

• Partnered with Google to provide mapping ‘mash-up’

• Allows them to separate Nike and football in the US market

It’s all free online isn’t it??

BBC Comedy Soup

• Web users are used to getting free content on site

• In order to induce visitors onto the site you do need to have something they want

• Public organisations are under pressure to provide free data

The BBC is enabling film makers to use assets in order to:

•Talent spot•Create brand advocates•Respond to free data issues

So what am I doing???

Ordnance Survey• Our traditional market is 45+ - think bobble-hats and rambling boots!

• The paper map market is in decline, and although serious walkers will always have a paper map in the rucksack, our sales are stagnant

• Our brand awareness is 80% and we need to ensure that we maintain this going forward and own the outdoor exploration space

• We need to provide our serious walkers with an online community to leverage brand advocates

• We also need to provide a wider audience with the inspiration to get out there…..

Outdoor Portal

Getout is a working title

Users can find routes by clicking the find button, or by typing the location in.

We will add a link to the map shop and magazine elements of our site as part of a wider integration process.

Free, basic, access to our crown jewels while protecting our revenue

More casual than our traditional branding

Find a route

Visitors can search for routes by length of route and type of route.

We will be adding to this list with visitor feedback.

Create a route

Users simply click on the map to add way points.

The way points are joined up with the route line

Portal – view routes

Images, and descriptions can be viewed. People can comment and rate the route.

Links to buy the map from the map shop and download a route card (where offered from our partners) will be added.

My account

Each registered user can create routes, add blogs, join or set up groups , send and receive messages from fellow group members and nominate friends and favourites.

They each have a page which lists what’s going on for them. Other users can view a profile page that each user sets up.

Outdoor Portal – an outdoor community

Blogging will enhance the user community. It may also provide a source of free editorial for our magazine, with permission of course!

Blogs and their writers can be rated.

Blogs can also help search engine optimisation.

Blogs, comments, emails and groups with be monitored via an automated moderation system, checked by an internal resource.

An outdoor community

How will it meet our objectives?

Opportunities include:

• Upselling of OS paper-maps and partner products

• Offering subscriptions – build our database

• Downloading data via partner devices

• One-off payments for services (e.g. download route card supplied by partners)

• Syndicating content/data to third-parties

• Advertising

• White label portal development for third-parties

But you’ve got loads of money…

The site has been developed with minimum spend and was finished in 6 weeks.

• If you want to web 2.0. ask your users how they want to interact with you and create a 2-way communication strategy that underpins your marketing strategy it can start very simply, with dynamic pages and news feeds where appropriate

• Launch in incremental phases and use online PR• Launch to existing brand advocates who can create word of mouth• Be prepared for negative comments and handle with respect

Conclusion – top tips to web 2.0. your site

All brands can benefit from web 2.0. as long as they use it to underpin their existing strategies and objectives

Tips to web 2.0. your site:• Don’t let your developers get carried away, it’s all driven by your goals not by the

technology• Launch in incremental phases as beta sites to test groups• Register with directories and aggregators – technorati, del.icio.us and digg• Be prepared to engage with your customers - good and bad• Add links to other web sites and blogs that support your core business

proposition• Avoid the corporate look, web 2.0. sites look like the cool teenage brother, whilst

still being in the family• Set up RSS feeds, links, tags and track-backs to other sites• Word technology so your customers understand them• Search for and find influential bloggers on your site and read them every day• Don’t make it look fake – you’ll get roasted