Do you know you Internet effectiveness?

Yesterday, I was honored to do a presentation on Twitter for the Hilton Head Island Food and Beverage Association. This marked the first time I did a presentation to a group other than educators. The focus of my talk was using Twitter to market a business. The presentation must have been good based on my observation of participants taking notes while I was talking, the questions I was asked, and the conversations at the end. It is from the questions and conversations I get to learn from my audience. From this feedback I make changes in my presentations and get new ideas for future presentations. While yesterday’s audience was different, my learning was not.

Whenever I talk about an Internet presence to educators they want to know how to get it done quickly and easily. Yesterday, I found out business people have the same desire as educators when it comes to an Internet presence. Time is money to the business owner which is why many of them have contracts with web developers. The big difference between businesses and educators is businesses want to know how effective their Internet message is. I found this out when I was asked on where statistics on Twitter accounts could be found. Twitter Analyzer was found after a quick Google search. Educators don’t usually care about the effectiveness of their Internet presence unless a parent or the principal calls (usually after a parent call) to do something about the webpage.

As more parents and students are becoming more Web 2.0 savvy they are demanding more information on the Internet from their children’s teachers and schools. This means educators need to start thinking about the effectiveness of their Internet message. Educators will need to evaluate a variety of tools such as  WebPages, e-mail, blogs, Twitter, Facebook, Ning class sites, Google Waves, and others to see what will have to most effective reach. Whatever tools are selected will need to be reviewed constantly to determine if the target audience is getting the information demanded. As businesses provide the information consumers demand, those same consumers will demand the same level of service from their schools.