Online sales strategy

Phil Clark, editor in chief, digital communities

8 January 2009

My new role

–Further integrating Digital delivery within group –Drawing the live events and online closer together–External and internal communications - embedding it within company and across our audiences–Directing Digital delivery but not directly managing it–Leading on content led projects/developments - liaising closely with commerce

2009 strategy - The Four Cs

1. Competition - we need to focus on delivery better content and digital offering than EMAP and REED

2. Collaboration - across UBM, different departments/audiences; looking for partners

3. Community - cliche but true - have to grow and maintain sustainable communities

4. Communication - internally (via wiki and other means - micro-messaging) and educating our audience and clients. The Digital DNA programme

Vision for sustainable communities

• Sustainability – Zerochampion – Building Sustainability – conferences – Sustainability Now/TV

• Education – Education Now – Education Channel – BSEC

• Regeneration? Health?

Channel/section

Live events

Blogs/forums

Wikis

• Online Encyclopedia – but user generated – The Google is Wikipedia

• Quotes on the amazing success of wikipedia by author Clay Shirky: “the genius of wikis and the coming change in group effort general is in part predicated on the ability to make non financial motivations add up to something of global significance…. Wikipedia invites us to do the following disorientating math : a chaotic process with unpredictable and wildly uneven contributions, made by non-expert contributors acting out of variable motivations is creating a global

resource of tremendous daily value.” • Can this work for Projects – BSD trial site – Your Projects (working

title)

Social media – lessons/learning

• It’s quick – takes time to establish blogs/communities (not build and follow model)

• Be focused and specific, not all things to all men/women

• Beware… of forums that are open to all. Trolls are nasty (experience on BLDG forum)

• Networking – what’s our strategy – umbrella communities/specific ones?

Video – initial thoughts/questions

• Can we sell video as part of existing packages?

• Can we offer to produce videos for clients?

• Link up to live and virtual events

• The sponsorship challenge – let’s try. NCE is doing it

• Live content – Interesting US example Twitlive

Random quotes part 1

Quotes