Words Go Further

Is the corporate website experience becoming a social experience?

The corporate website experience still doesn’t feel any different to an offline connection with a brand.

It’s the equivalent of a door to door salesman, hyped up on marketing jargon, desperately trying to push you towards a sale. It’s also a solitary experience. If you want an opinion on a product from someone you trust, you have to leave the corporate website and connect with your contacts through email, social network sites or in real life.

This could be changing. Many media and entertainment sites are now experimenting with tools which make it possible for users to log in direct to their social media accounts. As Jeremiah Owyang points out, Turner Broadcasting enabled users to log in to Facebook, MySpace and Twitter from their Final Four basketball site. Users were able to chat with their friends, in these social spaces, while they browsed content. Other sites like Daily Perfect provide personalised content recommendations drawn from your Facebook data – if you’ve logged in through Facebook Connect.

But does this also work for a corporate website? And how do you convince a client that it makes sense?

I’d say to the client:

1. It makes it easier for the customer to get advice and recommendations: I’m interested in your product but need to get a second opinion. Can I do it within your site with one click or go somewhere else – and probably give up?
2. There is an expectation of shared experience: the web, in all its other guises in now social. The user expects it. Why aren’t you delivering it?
3. If you believe in your product, the comments will be positive and influential. If you don’t, then social media is the last of your problems.
4. You get free, regularly changing, interesting content! Whoopee!
5. Your content is being pushed out for you. Comments can be published out on these social networks too, influencing whole new groups of people.

But the client says:

1. I’ve got no control. The perennial social media/community development get-out. Like you have control right now…

2. I’m losing leads. This one was picked up by Jeremiah

“Because brands will let users login using their social network identity (like Facebook or Twitter) they are increasing their chances of user interaction and engagement –but miss out on lead generation in the traditional sense.”

I’m not sure this traditional model of lead generation really exists. Who goes through the traditional marketing funnel anyway? If the brand is obsessed with keeping to its clean, sales conversion model then it’s not ready to bring a social experience to its website.

3. There’s no way to measure success. Jeremiah, again:

“The way brands measure leads in the future won’t be by name and email rows in databases –but perhaps by friends, fans, and followers.”

This is a pretty big leap for many brands used to tables full of prospects’ personal details. I’m still looking for a convincing way to show the value of having XXX followers on Twitter instead of XXX names in prospects database. I’ll leave that to our Analytics Director.

Convinced? Ready to turn your corporate website social? Frankly, it’s still a step too far for most brands – right now. The progressive ones will get it, the curious ones will think about it. But most brands will stay clear.

Photo from phill.d’s photostream

Tags: Brands, content, facebook, marketing, recommendations, Social Media, twitter