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Posted On
Nov 16, 2007
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Its time to take out your head from the sand and identify the very real business opportunities around this Web 2.0 stuff. For many its may just seem another bubble of sorts, but startups like MySpace and Digg are wildly popular and have a few lessons to teach the corporate establishment.
We all must have read a number of articles and writeups on the Web 2.0 buzz that has taken over the web. But now its time to benefit from this tool and actually making business and consumer needs. Mashups, Wikis, blogs all have ended up having immense impact, especially within the enterprises.
Here I would want to give my readers an insight of Web 2.0 and how essential can it be for any Internet marketer.
To start with we will have to understand how important Web can be for enterprises online.
Today 9 out of 10 companies sell on the Web, and most of them acknowledge that Internet is among their most profitable channels. E-commerce can be seen as everyday business now, but it's not about to make your sales force and telemarketers obsolete. Field sales, retail stores, telephone sales and distributors are all more profitable channels, despite the additional labor costs.
The Web is most adept at reaching niche markets—the so-called "long tail"—and most profitable when a company's Web site attracts new customers. Still, old and new customers prefer other ways of doing business, and the best way to use technology may be to help salespeople instead of replacing them. However, it's worth noting that the Internet is most successful at companies that serve both consumers and businesses. For example, the complexity of financial-services companies seems to make the Internet an effective alternative to traditional channels. Also noteworthy: Few companies have found a way to take advantage of Web 2.0 technologies to turn a profit.
Significance of Web 2.0 to Online Marketers
 Though relatively new, Web 2.0 has taken the world by storm. Familiar old technologies such as Flash and newer technologies such as AJAX and RSS feeds offer ground breaking new ways for retailers and consumers to connect with each other and communicate. These features are changing the face of online marketing.
Some traditional thinking industry leaders found it difficult to believe that blogs and social networking could have world wide consequences on any level—start-up or otherwise. A few months later, Web 2.0 marketing has sky-rocketed, proving them wrong and leaving them scrambling to strategize and integrate this once innocuous marketing structure into their existing models.
The distinct characteristic of Web 2.0 marketing is that it is leads by innovative means for keeping open the channels of communication between marketers and buyers. As the choice of communication channels increase, retailers are forced to think more about revamping their traditional online marketing campaigns. Blogs, social networking sites and RSS feeds are the three main areas of Web 2.0 that have the strongest impact on retailers.
Some tips that would help your company succeed Web 2.0 marketing
I don’t think Web 2.0 involves any any complex technology instead it is a shift in the manner organizations think about marketing.
Here are a few things you may want to consider when entering the Web 2.0 marketing arena:
- Social media marketing is a critical component of Web 2.0 marketing. Taking some time for you as well as your staff to understand and participate in social media marketing is an important first step. Some of the new services you need to understand and be familiar with include MySpace, YouTube, Flickr, Technorati and del.icio.us.
- There are several Web 2.0 methodologies that are available for your use. Brainstorm with your staff and your loyal users and develop a strategic plan about how and where your marketing resources can best be put to use for online marketing.
- Keep your mind open and be prepared to accept the revolutionary new ideas that fit the nature of social media marketing. Invite staff and loyal customers to submit relevant photographs or videos and add catchy titles. These can then be sent as postcards to their friends and contacts, widening your customer circle.
Web is all about audiences, people do not just want to come, buy and walk away. They want to be enlightened, engaged, and entertained. The only way you can succeed in that is by thinking of your web visitors in terms of an audience instead of just regarding them as market to "pitch" every week.
We cannot cannot enlighten, engage, or entertain our audience if your web site looks and sounds like it came from an academic textbook. So weave a little creativity and imagination into your story and present it to your audiences in a compelling way. Capture their attention by delivering your message the Web 2.0 way.
Some Related Articles:
A new niche Web 2.0 community for Internet Marketers
Web 2.0 portals key to Online Companies
Web 2.0 Fundamentals
The Web 2.0 blog
Web 2.0 for Business
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