A New Business Marketing Online Opportunity
The newest and hottest business marketing marketing now is also a new buzz word. “Web 2.0” is what all the bleary-eyed marketing gurus chant as their mantra.
So what is Web 2.0 and what does it do? More importantly, how do you take advantage of it? Should you take advantage of it? Or is it just another buzz word that means little except increased book sales for the so-called gurus?
That's a lot of questions, but they're easily answered.
Web 2.0 is commonly seen as blogging and social media. That's a good start, but that's not everything. Web 2.0 is about social networks on the Internet and the technologies that tie them together.
The gurus will tell you that Web 2.0 is the “ultimate marketplace” and that you need to be using it. What they don't generally tell you is how to use it. That, of course, is because it's not just a place where you can go, set up a count, and dump an ad onto it and instantly start getting tsunamis of traffic.
It's a little more than that and requires some knowledge and work to use effectively. A good Web 2.0 marketer, though, knows that it doesn't take all of your time. It's just something that once you understand it, you'll be able to work into your routine every day.
Let's have a look at some of the easy ways you can begin incorporating Web 2.0 right now. Then we'll talk about how a marketing professional can help you take your business to the next level using Web 2.0 and more.
The very first step in utilizing social media marketing is to have a clear plan as to how you're going to do it. That plan doesn't have to cover everything, but it should cover the things you will be doing.
Obviously in order for you to have that plan, you'll need to know what portions of Web 2.0 you're best able to take hold of for your business marketing. You likely already know the major names involved like Facebook and Twitter, so you can start there.
If you can commit the time to a blog, you should incorporate one into your business' website. Don't do so if you can't commit to 2-5 posts per week, though, then a blog is probably not really for you. It's better not to do it than to do it wrong.
Business Marketing Online Opportunity: Daily Commitment
Putting your plan together, keep in mind your time and whether you can commit to everything on your list. Setting up accounts takes some time, but is only a one-time commitment. Your daily commitment will be interacting with your network.
Most good Internet marketers don't really spend more than an hour or so per day on their networks. The trick is to know how much time you have and only commit to what you can rather than over-committing and failing to meet those commitments.
To decide where to put your Web 2.0 presence(s) and how to utilize them, find out where your target market spends their time. Where they are is where you need to be. That's just common sense.
Business Marketing Online Opportunity: Stick to the Plan
Once you're on those sites you can use and you've created a small plan for utilizing them, stick to the plan. Revisions, of course, will happen as you learn new things or gain new technology, but your overall plan should remain intact.
Now for the next rule, which goes against common sense for many of us: do not sell.
You saw that right. Don't sell yourself or your products. That means don't be pushy and don't make it appear that you're only there to promote yourself. You'll lose your audience fast doing that. Instead, soft sell.
Soft selling with social media (Web 2.0) means being the opposite of a used car salesman. Don't refuse to sell, of course, but drive your sales with helpful content, informative answers to questions, and by participating in community.
Mention your product or service as if it were an afterthought when talking about the genre or market. Whatever you do, though, make sure that your website, product, service, etc. are prominently mentioned in your profiles on the social media sites.
If you provide good content, users will look to your profile for more information about you. That's the soft sell.
Business Marketing Online Opportunity: Working With a Professional
Once you've begun to utilize Web 2.0 technologies to promote your business, you'll soon find that there is a lot more to learn than you might have anticipated. Eventually, you'll start looking for a professional to help guide you.
There's a big difference between professional marketers who know about social media and the gurus who talk up a storm about it, though.
We here at Wag the Dog Marketing pride ourselves in being professional marketers with years of experience in all types of Internet marketing, including Web 2.0. Come talk to us and find out how we can help you and your business!
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