Companies want more control of sites

The concept of Web 2.0 may have been all the rage a scant couple of years ago, but Web developers agree that the current high-tech world is embracing a low-tech ideology.

Today, the buzz concept is “user-friendly.” And gone are the days when the Webmaster was the only liaison between a company and its ideal Internet image.

Brad Moss, chief executive and creative director of Longmont-based Web site development firm BK Media Group, said companies are now demanding to have more control over the content management system of their Web site.

 “Now, everyone who calls us is looking for a site with content-management tools, with either full-blown CMS control or with the ability to control certain elements,” he said. “To fulfill this need, we’re developing sites that the client can walk away with and not be trapped by the bottleneck of the developer.”

 Toward this goal, developers are creating sites where clients can have complete editing access using an accessible CMS platform. This enables site owners to log in with a secure password and then add, edit or delete content with the click of a button.

“The trend is to build a dynamic-content, CMS platform that doesn’t ever have to go back to a developer, unless the site owner wants modification to the templates,” Moss said. “This way, you won’t need to pay a developer for maintenance or upgrades.”

 Another major trend is the move away from enterprise-owned software management toward open source, license-free management that is accessible and adaptable to every Web site. Moss said today’s open source CMS platforms are monitored with sufficient security support for any major application.

 “In the last year or two, 90 percent of our clients have moved toward an open-source system, because of the ability it gives to make changes in real time,” he said. “Instead of having to contact your developer because of a typo, you can make changes instantly with the click of a button. It’s more efficient and allows people to keep fresh content on their site.

“Fresh content is key these days, because the user wants to have a new experience each time they come to your site; they don’t want to see that the site has been sitting stagnant for the last six months,” Moss added.

At Goozmo, a Boulder-based Web-development firm, co-founders Benjamin Reed and Tyson Brawley agree that in today’s Web world user-management tools are the secret to success.

Reed said Goozmo developers follow the new trend of user-friendly CMS management by giving their clients tools to enable them to easily manage the content on every page.

“We like to say that, if you can send an e-mail, or browse for a file, or type a document, you can manage this system,” Reed said.

Reed added that it’s important to understand that this level of client interactivity means increased responsibility as well. Goozmo Webmasters encourage their clients to look at their Web site as often as possible.

 “You need to check it daily if you can, and put in at least an hour once a week to go in there and review it, looking at it as if you’re a visitor,” Reed said. “You need to see how it’s impacting your customers and how it affects your business’ bottom line.”

 While user-friendly content management is all the rage, another trend is threatening to take top billing – that of social media marketing. Reed said nearly every new or existing client at Goozmo is asking how this latest trend could affect their Web sites’ marketing strategies.

Reed, along with other Web developers, agrees that social media sites can provide a great marketing tool – but not necessarily for everyone.

“It’s important for Web site owners to understand that they’re a business first, and that their Web site is a piece of their operations,” he said. “They need to look at the site not as something with all the bells and whistles, but as something that will get the customer in the door. 

“Social media marketing requires attention and managing, so there needs to be a good return for this type of investment,” he added. “Even then, social media marketing should be only a piece of the marketing plan, and not the be-all and end-all of it.”

 But for many businesses, the idea of a presence on Facebook or Twitter, with the potential to be viewed by millions, is a tempting proposition – and one that can bring in lucrative results.

 David Heitman, president  The Creative Alliance in Lafayette, a great many businesses have enthusiastically jumped on the social media marketing bandwagon. One notable example is Starbucks, which has 3.7 million fans on its Facebook page.

“Most of our clients are asking about how social media marketing can be strategically aligned with their Web sites,” Heitman said. “After all, Facebook has 250 million users worldwide, and you can’t ignore something that big.

“We’re starting to see how it can be a bridge between public relations and traditional marketing on the Web,” he said. “But it takes judgment to know what to put on there – you have to make sure there’s consistency between what you have on Facebook and your own Web site.”

Social media sites can be used as an efficient marketing tool, Heitman said, as long as you have the capability to manage your presence on the site – which includes monitoring and updating your page as frequently as possible.

 “We refer to it as the most expensive free media in the world,” he said. “But actually, it’s only free to get in. You can create a Facebook page in five minutes for your company, but you have to have someone on staff who is responsible for it. 

“The challenges come from the company’s ability to provide the time and talent to support it and keep it fresh and interesting and relevant.”

But there are risks involved, especially considering that the user-generated format of Facebook and other sites automatically gives control of the board to anyone who wants it.

“Because it’s user-generated content, you can’t control what other people say about you in those environments, and you have to always try to protect your brand,” Heitman said.

The important thing about using social media for Web marketing, Heitman said, is to make sure you have a good strategy and know why you’re doing it.

 “The worst reason to start a Twitter page is because everyone else has one,” he said.  “But it can be efficient, as long as it aligns with the other marketing efforts of the company.”

  Both content-management control tools and social media marketing are crucial ways for companies to participate in a new era of IT self-sufficiency, Heitman said.

“It’s all about helping our customers decide how self-sufficient they want to be in running their own Web site,” he said. 

  “The best of both worlds is to try and make people as self-sufficient as they want to be. The days of being held hostage by your Webmaster are over,” he added.

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