Summary of 'Maximising website and online communciation' 2009

Monday, February 02, 2009

H&H was one of the sponsors of the ENG conference "Maximising website and online communication". The conference was a great success with approximately 80 participants from corporations all over Europe meeting and discussing how to handle their websites and online presence.

Some of the topics discussed were:

Web platforms to ensure brand consistency - good or bad

Controlling your brand worldwide is facilitated by having one common CMS and technical platform. During the conference a lot of experience was shared through discussing both pros and cons of having a common platform. Most companies strive to have a common CMS in order to ensure brand consistency and to save costs. However some argued that this might create bureaucratic processes, slowing down the time to market.

Three examples of companies making use of a common platform, and in the process of rolling it out were UniCredit, Unilever and WWF.

Social media - do we dare or not?

Social media and whether or not to be active in it as a corporation was a reoccurring topic during the conference. Most were aware and agreed that there is a conversation going on in the blogosphere, in communities etc. Only a few had a strategy or plan  of how to handle it. In many cases, it was a matter of how the management of the company views it.

Some of the participants showed good examples of the use of social media and how it can change company image as well as handle misinformation. One good example of a company that uses social media to create a dialogue with its external stakeholders is Kodak who has three different blogs where both employees and visitors can interact by sharing their experiences and photos. The blogs and the company's online presence is monitored by their full time Chief Blogging Officer. GM described how they had used social media to handle misinformation during the last fall.

Apart from this the use of Twitter (Micro blogs) and video for corporate communications were obviously high on the agenda for most professionals. How, when, and what to use them for ranged from “don't know what it is” to the most advanced companies broadcasting live on multiple online services with publicity support through micro blogging, blogs and other social networking tools. The trend was clear, and the future is out there!

European Networking Group - Maximising Website and Online Communications

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