Strateg-e Awards offer window on the revolution
Welcome to the third annual iteration of the Hartford Business Journal’s Strateg-e Awards program.
It’s been another fascinating year in the evolution/revolution that is eTechnology. At the intersection of our desire for instant communication and instant gratification, we’ve learned more than we want to about Mark Zuckerberg’s real motivations behind developing Facebook. We’ve seen celebrities make spectacles of themselves via Twitter. We’ve seen companies at war with their employees and their customers over too much honesty flowing through social media channels.
But we’ve also seen a grand progression in the business applications of social media. Groupon has brought its e-couponing to the Hartford market. Public relations firms, advertising agencies and a vast array of specialty marketing operations have turned their attention to analyzing the vast quantities of social media data and offering advice to clients on how to best capitalize on the new media explosion.
It seems many are experimenting in social media but it feels like the market has grown beyond interest in broad proclamations of the wonderful new world that social media can open. We’ve reached the practical phase where businesses are asking, ”What can you do for me and my special situation?”
We’ve learned that Facebook comes with risks and isn’t for everyone. Neither is LinkedIn, Twitter, Foursquare, Yelp or any of the other applications multiplying by the minute. We’ve learned that every message isn’t right for every platform.
But we’re also learning that while there is a role for social media, there are many other eTechnology/eMarketing applications that can make sense for a business.
In the following pages, we’ll provide a look at some organizations that are doing social media well and provide some tips in that area. But we’ll also look at some best practices in website design. And we’ll talk with a software firm that provides a strong return on investment by simplifying a common business process headache.
While social media has captured the buzz this year, it’s but a part of the eTechnology/eMarketing landscape. The common theme is that technology offers new and better ways for business to interact with its clients, its employees, its supply chain.
Each business is unique and each needs to find its way through the thicket to the solutions that are just right for that business. Our goal — both with this section and last week’s content-driven event at the Hilton in Hartford — is to help our readers with those choices. And we’ll keep at that task — in print, online and in person. If there are questions you want answered, topics you want explored, let us know.
Editor
nbell@HatfordBusiness.com
Recognizing Companies That Effectively Use Technology To Service Customers And Produce Revenue.
Best Use of Social Media: Winner – HYPE
Best Use of Social Media: Runner Up — GoECart
Best Website Design: Winner – www.SwapMeSports.com
Best Website Design: Runner Up — Capitol Region Education Council (CREC)
For Information About the Judges, Click HERE
Featured Articles:
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Getting the most out of Linkedin means investing time to learn its power
