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December 27, 2008 By Leave a Comment

Notice: The IT Department Does Not Handle Your Web Site

As I work with companies to create or update their new web sites, I frequently encounter a misconception that I find puzzling. It seems that many companies are of the mindset that their IT departments should be 100% in charge of their web site. Not so… in fact, Marketing should be the group overseeing or at least very involved in the corporate web site. Most IT departments are overworked as a result of supporting infrastructure and workstations and don’t have the time to devote attention to the company web site nor should they take on all these responsibilities.

The old-fashioned way of building web sites did involve getting messy with custom code and building custom “back end” interfaces and also involved hosting sites in-house. Today, however, there is no reason (with a few exceptions) for companies to build, host, and maintain web sites in-house. Modern web sites should be built on a content management system or application framework that removes the need for custom coding and messy development. When we design and deploy web sites at SpinWeb, we focus on the marketing and business development aspects of the site, rather than the technology. The technology should operate seamlessly in the background, leaving us free to be creative and focus on business goals.

This means that IT really should not be the only group with a role in the design, deployment, or management of the web site. Today’s modern tools allow the marketing team to handle all these activities with ease. This leaves IT free to provide better support for systems that is within the scope of their training. Everybody wins.

Are there exceptions? Absolutely. At SpinWeb we recently deployed a new web site for a prominent local credit union and we were working directly with the IT team and it was a very successful project. This was because the IT team saw the value of outsourcing the technology related to the web site and opening up control to Marketing, thus providing better service. When this is the goal, it’s a win-win for everyone. I would say that in this case, the IT team was wearing a partial Marketing and Communications hat during the project, in addition to IT responsibilities.

Remember that a web site is a marketing and communications tool – typically not an IT project.

Filed Under: Design, Marketing, Productivity, Technology Tagged With: , , ,
December 23, 2008 By 3 Comments

Social Networking Saves Business Cards

As I was enjoying visiting with our clients and friends during the SpinWeb Christmas Open House, I had a revelation about social networking. As I was talking to a friend of a friend and learning more about his business, we got to the part about exchanging business cards. At that point I was about to walk over to my business card holder and grab one but then I said, “oh, you’re on Smaller Indiana so I’ll find you there.” It occurred to me that there was no need to exchange business cards because we already belonged to the same social network and therefore we could easily find each other.

Now, it’s true that saving a few business cards is not a big deal. However, it was interesting to see how belonging to the right social networks can act as a valuable supplement to “real-world” networking.

Next time you’re at a networking event, try finding the people you meet on Facebook, Smaller Indiana, or ConnectBNI to learn more. You might be surprised at how useful social networks can be when meeting new people.

Filed Under: Lifestyle, Marketing, Technology Tagged With: , ,