Web 2.0 Becomes Mandatory

By Toby Ward — Americans really dig social media… but Canadians love it. Almost 60% of Americans interact with companies on a social media Web site, and one in four interact more than once per week. These are among the findings of the 2008 Cone Business in Social Media Study (Cone LLC).

When asked about specific types of interactions, Americans believe:

• A company should have a presence in social media (93%)
• A company should not only be present but also interact with its consumers via social media (85%)
• American consumers feel both a stronger connection with and better served by companies when they can interact with them in a social media environment (56%)
• Companies should use social networks to solve my problems (43%)

Of the younger, hard-to-reach consumers (ages 18-34), one-third believe companies should actively market to them via social networks, and the same is true of the wealthiest households (household income of $75,000+). Two-thirds of the wealthiest households and the largest households (3 or more members) feel stronger connections to brands they interact with online.

Survey:
The 2008 Cone Business in Social Media Study presents the findings of an online survey conducted September 11-12, 2008 by Opinion Research Corporation among 1,092 adults comprising 525 men and 567 women 18 years of age and older. The margin of error associated with a sample of this size is ± 3%.

If you thought Americans were demanding… according to comScore Media Metrix numbers from Canada, the Great White North is more social:

• 85% of online population visit a social networking site, spending 6 hours per month per visitor
• 63% of online population visit a blog site in a month
• Almost 24 million Canadians age 2+ online in a month, spending an average of 46 hours online per person (that’s 3/4s of the country that is older than 2-years-old!!!)
• 94% of online population perform search in a month, conducting 33 searches per searcher
• 85% of online population stream a video, viewing an average of 120 videos per viewer per month

The comScore Media Metrix numbers are in fact from the beginning of the year and undoubtedly higher today. In fact, according to ZincResearch.com 90% of Canadians between the ages of 18 and 34 are Facebook members (9 million). Those numbers are from the beginning of the year (the participation rate is definitely higher today).

Web 2.0 was once cool and nice to have. Now, it’s no longer an option. Web 2.0 is a must-have. Social media tools are becoming a point of differentiation and competitive advantage as organizations learn to use the new technology to engage with customers and external stakeholders in cost effective ways.

Based on our early adopter knowledge of Web 2.0, a technology-neutral approach to defining business requirements and a proven methodology for aligning online collaboration needs with organizational goals, Prescient has developed a customizable Web 2.0 Blueprint to help client assess and implement Web 2.0 tools.

For more information on our Web 2.0 Blueprint service for clients please contact us directly for more information on how to transform your intranet into a high-value employee & business system.

Also free for downloading:
Good to Great Intranet Matrix
Social Media Checklist - Updated
Finding ROI: Measuring Intranet Investments