Making your Corporate Website Relevant

Your Corporate Website Can Be Relevant Again

Jeremiah OwyangPartnerMay 19, 2010

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For Gilbane Content Management Conference

Roadmap for the Social Corporate Website

© 2010 Altimeter Group

Social will be like air

Source: Pew Resource Center’s Internet and American Life Project (October 8, 2009)

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Corporate websites: Are they relevant?3


Many brands approach in disparate fashion4

Social Network

Corporate Website


Many brands approach in disparate fashion5

Corporate Website

+Social

Network


Evolution of the Social Corporate

Website

Image by zetson used with Attribution as directed by Creative Commons http://www.flickr.com/photos/zetson/254608875



7Framework: Evolution of the Social Corporate Website

1. No social integration

2. Link away with no strategy

3. Link away but encourage sharing

4. Brand integrated in social channels

5. Aggregate discussion on site

6. Users stay on site with social log-in

7. Social log-in triggers sharing

8. Seamless integration


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Do nothing – No social integration

1. Do nothing – No social integration

2. Link directly away with no strategy








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1. DO NOTHING – NO SOCIAL INTEGRATION

EXAMPLE Corporate website that has no integration with social tools.

BENEFIT Cheap. Ignorance is bliss, at least in the short term.

CHALLENGE Your corporate website is irrelevant.


Trader Joe’s does not integrate social on its site…10


… despite die-hard fans and unofficial channels11


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Link directly away without a strategy










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2. LINK DIRECTLY AWAY WITHOUT A STRATEGY

EXAMPLE

Corporate homepages that have chicklets which say “Follow us on

Twitter/Facebook/YouTube” send traffic away.

BENEFIT Encourages growth of social channels.

CHALLENGE Sends traffic away, without having a strategy.


Zara directs visitors away with Facebook chicklet14


McDonald’s directs visitors away with a link (TV ads too)15


But worse, sends a confusing message16

McDonald’s doesn’t encourage visitors to leave it site for social channels:

“You are leaving the McDonald's Corporation web site for a site that is

controlled by a third party, not affiliated with

McDonald's.”


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Link away but encourage sharing










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3. LINK AWAY, BUT ENCOURAGE SHARING WITH A PRE-POPULATED

MESSAGE

EXAMPLEA chicklet that encourages new Twitter followers to Tweet at their friends “I’m

now following X brand”

BENEFIT Triggers a social alert as a form of endorsement.

CHALLENGEBetter than the previous, though it may not have a follow up or call to

action.


Hypothetical: DSW customers send pre-loaded tweets about shoes they like

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Outback Steakhouse’s new Facebook “Like” button links away and encourages sharing

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Brand integrated in social channels










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4. BRAND EXPERIENCE IS INTEGRATED IN SOCIAL CHANNELS

EXAMPLEExtends the brand to social channels,

so the corporate experience is mirrored on social channels.

BENEFIT Regardless of wherever users go, they are still experiencing the brand.

CHALLENGESocial channels sometimes serve

better as a conversational area –not for traditional branding campaigns.


Starbucks experience mirrored in social channels23


Tiffany offers branded social channels…24

It’s even hard to know if this is Tiffany’s

official Twitter page. It’s Facebook and

home page is not even linked.


…but you wouldn’t know this from their home page25

There are no links directing visitors to

Tiffany’s official social channels – a missed opportunity.


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Aggregate the discussion on corporate site










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5. AGGREGATE THE DISCUSSION ON CORPORATE SITE

EXAMPLE

Aggregate select conversations from Tweets (like the Skittles homepage),

top discussions in communities or blogs. See Disqus and Echo.

BENEFITCentralizes the discussion on your site,

making it a resource to first look at. Low cost content.

CHALLENGE Lack of control over content posted on corporate site, plus still links off site.


Whole Foods aggregates some of the discussion on site and links away

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There are no links directing visitors to

Tiffany’s official social channels – a missed opportunity.


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Social log-in systems that allow users to stay on site










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6. SOCIAL LOGIN SYSTEMS THAT ALLOW USERS TO STAY ON SITE

EXAMPLE

Using FB connect, or Twitter connect allow users to use their existing logins to access site. See how JanRain and

Gigya* help.

BENEFITMay increase sign ups, widening

marketing funnel. Chances are that content is more accurate than a sign

up form.

CHALLENGEMay not have access to email

addresses, as users pass through using social logins.

* Disclosure: An Altimeter Group client.


Customers log in with Facebook Connect on H&R Block’s community

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Social log in that triggers viral loop










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7. SOCIAL LOGIN SYSTEMS THAT ALLOW USERS TO STAY ON SITE, BUT

TRIGGERS VIRAL LOOP

EXAMPLE

There’s an actual social or interactive experience on the corporate site that

triggers them to share with their friends.

BENEFITUsers stay on site, interact with brand or peers, yet recruit other members in

social networks.

CHALLENGE Requires planning, a campaign, and extensive resources.


Pepsi’s Refresh Project asks users to log in with their Facebook…

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… and share their Refresh votes with friends on Facebook or Twitter

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Sign into HuffPo with Facebook and share/discuss news with your social graph

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“Like” merchandise in the Levi’s store via Facebook and share with friends

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A seamless integration between corporate site and social sites










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8. SEAMLESS INTEGRATION BETWEEN CORPORATE SITE AND SOCIAL SITES

EXAMPLEOther than URLs there’s no difference between a corporate site and a social

site – the experience is seamless.

BENEFITCustomers, prospects, and employees

mix together, churning on new members and viral activity.

CHALLENGE It doesn’t exist, yet.


vitaminwater doesn’t have a corporate site – it’s “temporarily” moved to Facebook

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Websites are dynamically assembled on the fly based on social profiles.

This could happen in person, or while using Google or Facebook.

As a result, URLs won’t matter, nor will domains/ Instead the web will be sorted around people and contextual situations.

As a result, ads become useful information, and desirable.

The Radical Future?41


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A flight path for corporate website evolution


2. Link away with no strategy








Be Deliberate.

Image by adamcnelson used with Attribution as directed by Creative Commons http://www.flickr.com/photos/adamcnelson/3593821772



1. Although its a new and experimental medium, brands should plan a roadmap.

2. The future of web experiences will be based around people –not products.

3. Take inventory of all corporate web assets and identify where they are in the framework.

4. Next, identify the desired state, and then build a plan against it. Start small and slow, and be sure to have a strategy.

5. Don’t arbitrarily jump into the to social marketing space without measurable KPIs. Be deliberate in your actions.

Use this Road Map for your strategy44


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Jeremiah [email protected]/blogTwitter: jowyang

THANK YOU

With assistance from Christine Tran, Researcher


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Altimeter Group is a Silicon Valley-based strategy research andconsulting firm that provides companies with a pragmaticapproach to disruptive technologies. We have four areas offocus: Leadership and Management, Customer Strategy,Enterprise Strategy, and Innovation and Design.

Visit us at http://www.altimetergroup.com or contact [email protected].

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Making your Corporate Website Relevant