Web 2.0: what is it good for? Part 1

by Ian Hendry
Guest Blogger and CEO of WeCanDo.BIZ - make your business network WORK!
http://www.wecando.biz

Quite a lot actually. Don’t dismiss it as a buzzword attached to a fad – Web 2.0 technologies enable you to do many of the things you already do in business, but a lot faster.

The phrase “Web 2.0″ doesn’t signify a significant leap in internet technologies; it’s just a tag used to describe websites where the content you read has been put there by website visitors and users, rather than website owners and publishers. It’s where you get to achieve your objectives through contact, collaboration and engagement with other website users. You may not know these website users; or they may be customers, suppliers or partners. Social networks, blogs, forums, micro-blogging and more all fall under the Web 2.0 banner. And rather than being the preserve of nerds and teenagers, business people are now using these tools to great effect to help achieve their business goals.

Here is a simple break-down of how some of the most innovative Web 2.0 services can benefit you and your business:

Best for seeking advice on general business matters
Online forums are full of normal business people who are experts in their respective fields and who are happy to answer questions posted by others. From accountancy and tax issues, through to IT or internet marketing questions, you’ll find forums and experts all over the web. People will value your own opinions too, so they can be a place where you can show off your skills and win new business as a result. For the most part though, forums are discussion websites where people go for help, advice and feedback.

UKBusiness Forums is a great forum as it covers a wide variety of disciplines; with 27,000 registered members it is also very well supported.

Blogs from experts in your field may also provide you with valuable information, contacts and a route to other useful resources. Again, search Google for your industry or specialism, plus the word “blog” to find industry luminaries who document their thoughts and findings through their blogs. Also check out the websites for the magazines and journals for your industry to see if they have expert blogs.

Most blogs allow you to comment on what has been said – this is a great way of getting the most from those contacts and also showing your own expertise. Make sure you include a link back to your website in your signature when you leave a comment on a blog, so people can contact you if they wish to. You could find your comments leading to new opportunities for you. Don’t put your e-mail address in your signature, however, as spammers will use it!

Best for hiring new staff and career advancement
Forums can often be the source of valuable advice on hiring or finding a job, but it is likely you’ll want to do either with a little more discretion than is available on a public forum!

LinkedIn is a professional networking site which is heavily skewed towards personal progression and career advancement. You can register to add your own profile, which includes information about the various roles you have had; you can then re-connect with people you worked with in those roles, many of whom may also have their career details on the site too – LinkedIn has 23 million members globally. Former colleagues are often a great place to recruit from, but they can also help you get placed, either directly or through people they are happy to recommend you to.

LinkedIn is a US-based site, although popular in the UK with over 1 million members here. It has a European based competitor in Xing, which has strong German and Spanish communities in particular, although it is not so well represented in the UK.

Best for sharing ideas with peers and others in my industry
Forums probably provide the best answer here. Search for forums specific to your industry through Google, making sure the forums are well represented in the same geography as you. You may also want to check out the websites of leading magazines or journals for your industry, as these may also have active reader forums where you can mix with others from your industry.

Watch also for blogs from industry commentators. They may be the thoughts of only one person, but can be a useful source of industry information that doesn’t make the news websites. You may also build up some useful contacts through the people who comment on these blogs, as well as the bloggers themselves.

Of course, you can always start a blog yourself to get you in front of your industry peers. The best place to start is looking to see if those industry specific news sites offer reader blogs – sign up to one of these and you’ll get the benefit of being promoted through the site they run into the market you’re in. Otherwise, start a blog at either WordPress or BlogSpot and be sure to promote it as much as you can – consider adding a link to it within your e-mail signature or to any social networking or forum profiles you have. WordPress can also be linked to your own company website, which will help drive more traffic to your site. If you go it alone in this way (as opposed to blog pages on a news site), then you’ll have the job of promoting it yourself of course – no one will do it for you.

Best for meeting new contacts with a view to doing business
One of the issues with forums and blogs is that people often do not like being sold to through them. When you think about it, if every blogger or member of a forum tried to sell their products or services every chance they got, such places would soon become nothing more than bazaars, offering little valuable information. So it’s best to tread carefully around them to avoid being lambasted for being overly “salesy”. It is possible to get barred from forums if perceived to be using it to serve only your self interests!

That said, it is possible to ultimately win new business from forums and blogs by proving your expertise through the pages and attracting customers passively. This is best done by offering advice to those seeking it, rather than trumpeting your own skills. Over time your reputation will work for you to help you win new business.

All of this takes time, however, and it is impossible to say how much you would have to give to these sites in order to get a return. If you are looking for more immediate returns for your business, social networking may provide quicker and more quantifiable results.

If you sell to consumers, make a bee-line to the social networks you think your target customers are more likely to be members of. Facebook is the leading mainstream social network and appeals to the young and more mature in equal measure. Facebook offers fan pages for businesses and brands to promote themselves. Sites like YouTube also offer opportunities for promotion through video clips – the more fun ones can spread like wildfire; so called “viral marketing”. If you have something funky to sell and can produce simple videos to promote it, this could be a great way of reaching consumers.

If you operate in the somewhat more staid business to business arena, however, my own business focused social network at WeCanDo.BIZ may provide you an easy route to new customers. It is an online lead and referral network, enabling you to list yourself and your business; collect endorsements from customers which, in turn, get you better promoted on the site; and make connections with other business people who you may be able to assist or who may be able to assist you. As with almost all Web 2.0 resources, it is free to join.

I hope this all HELPS someone get to grips with Web 2.0 for the benefit of their business.

Part 2 to follow here…

Ian Hendry

Tags: Web 2.0