Evolution of Social Web
The internet is changing and as a result, how we interact with it is changing as well. I found this great diagram by Forrester Research which shows the evolution of social interactions of both companies and individuals.
As you consider your social media strategy, you need to think about where your are comfortable individually as well as how much functionality you want to invest in for your website. As a small business owner, while I love the idea of creating a truly shared experience for users and visitors to my website it is unrealistic to think there will be enough of a return for that investment.
As a result, I will be content with simple interactions on my blog, and join larger communities, like Twitter, and Smaller Indiana, to find the completely collaborative and interactive experience the web can deliver.
I don’t think you should be quick to discount the viable options to make your website more communication and user driven. We are installing a wordpress plugin called Intense Debate of our company website as well as my blog.. It keep the conversation going and it allows for your readers and customers to interact with each other on a daily basis.
The concept of ROI can be taken in two forms: market and social capital. While you may not see the initial return on your market ROI (currency).. you will be experiencing a massive ROI on social capital.
I will be really interested to see how Intense Debate works out on your sites. I don’t have quite as much traffic.. YET … so i am less confident in the value of trying to do too much too soon.
i thin this is an evolutionary process, and as the site continues to expand this might be a great add in.
As always, thx for stopping by and sharing an idea!