Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Social networking is here to stay - Investment News


As I mentioned in an earlier post, I have been attending a conference here in Boston sponsored by Barclays. The meeting - titled "Back-to-School" - is very useful to me, since I get to see a lot of great consumer products companies.

I will publish more tomorrow about what I heard, but I wanted to mention one recurring theme at the conference. Namely, the strong push that virtually every company is making in social media.

Now, I realize that this might just be the latest business fad (remember zero-based budgeting?) but I don't think so. These companies seem to be getting real financial results from using Facebook and Twitter, so I suspect that this trend might continue longer than some expect.

For example, I still get push back from managers my age and older about the usefulness of social networking.

There is the tendency to simply dismiss sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. as mere fads that will soon disappear. I don't agree (and I suspect you don't either, or you wouldn't be reading this blog!).

For example, most of the time that any one of us thinks about buying something (e.g., a new car) or engaging a service (e.g. house painter), one of the first things we do is check out the alternatives on the internet.

Most businesses consider their websites as part of their business, just as important as a telephone number or email address. Still, many do not spend enough time on it:

Your website is still your most important communication tool. A website serves as the portal to your company, its services, people and mission. It's the place where people verify who you are and, when done right, it legitimizes your business. It's also a great place to have an extended conversation or connection with your clients and prospects.

Yet many financial websites were built five to 10 years ago and look dreadful, offering nothing more than bland boilerplate content. Some are informative, but most use a home page that bombards the user with way too much information.

Your website should offer minimum choices on each page with links for more information so the user may navigate with ease and seek out the information that is most relevant. This is called “progressive disclosure.” This is not about hiding information or avoiding transparency; it's about offering choices and building a website that invites the user in on his or her terms.

At the conference I'm attending right now, virtually every company is discussing how they are using the internet to reduce costs and increase productivity. It seems that the web is not an interesting option; it has become an essential part of driving shareholder returns.


Social networking is here to stay - Investment News

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