Posts tagged "social media"

The Steps to take Advantage Of Web 2.0 Marketing

There are so many opportunities out there for marketing consultants these days it is incredible.  The issue is with Web 2.0 most haven’t any idea the easiest way to take advantage of the changes. 

So I want to offer some aid on the subject.  This is a brief list of some of the things which you should be doing in the Web 2.0 world.  To start let’s describe what web 2.0 is and by the same rule is not.  Web 2.0 is just a new box of tools or toys depending on your viewpoint.  Web 2.0 is designed to create connections both in the personal and business worlds.  Folks may be able to share photos and info with others.  The power to work with others on projects in reinforced so it can be done fully online .  There is now truly a virtual sector of blogs, communities, business and social networking sites that provide the capability for folk to in many ways totally exist in a web world. 

The quantity of sites available is growing daily.  There are millions of folk on Facebook as a very popular example.  Web 2.0 is one of the tactics that marketing pros are using this explosion in appreciation.  The thing is there are only a few companies that really harnessing this opportunity.  Most have only a token presence in the Web 2.0 world.  This article will hopefully permit you to become one of the chosen few. 

Lecturing purchasers is not longer how you must educate and guide them through your entire selling process.  The conventional way of selling is the way most advertisers are using Web 2.0.  They take the approach of convincing.  Some executive is blogging on a daily basis trumpeting accolades about the product or service which his company sells.  The consumer simply hears Blah Blah Blah.  This fully misses the power of Web 2.0.  The approach that will be more effective is usually to get your potential customers engaged in activities related to you company’s marketing.  This will involve everything from the development of products to purchaser service and feedback. 

One of the simplest ways to accomplish this is by setting up web communities.  These communities provide consumers and workers a place to interact.  Patrons also may be able to discuss and exchange ideas with each other.  Folks can discuss their lives just as neighbours in real world community.  This creates a bond that then becomes linked with the site and the company sponsoring the site.  This also gives a means for the company to become acquainted with its customers.  This method is much quicker and less costly than the traditional method of marketing.  Group surveys and the old focus groups are not as effective in the results gained or the expenses to execute. 

Another Web 2.0 advantage is the power to permit business partners and customers to actually edit content.  They can add their own articles and comment on others.  This opens up a totally new way of communication.  Users can also permit others to collaborate on projects.  There are forums that let consumers to become involved in answering FAQ’s about products and services.  This gives the shopper a feeling of participation and therefore the company actually alues their opinion and input. 

Make sure your clients have an excuse to be involved.  Provide inducements to your clients so that are much more likely to share info on the company site.  This may mean setting things up so that they feel at ease posting their thoughts and what kind of experience they have had.  You need their fair point of view about your service or product.  This could mean permitting the consumer to start talks about subjects of their own choosing.  Permit it to be about them and not the company line. 

There may also be motivations re cash, credits, deductions or actual products.  These are things that shoppers only can receive as members of the club or community.  They can gain these either by participating with article submissions, comments on articles or posts or answering questions or providing solutions on forums.  This also gives the company the chance to identify folk in the community who could be mavens in different areas. 

Having a judge is a great means to expedite these varieties of sites.  The moderator is able to keep discussions moving and maintain some type of order to the site.  This prevents the site from becoming simply plenty of unimportant noise or drifting too far off subject.  The moderator can also ensure any issues are addressed by the proper department or person in the company.  The moderator can also make sure the site stays well implemented and keep their finger on the pulse of what the partakers what. 
Avoid the enticement to govern the site and permit it flow with minimal constraints.  There is going to be a delicate balance between free flowing chats and keeping things on the organization’s's desired subjects.  It is generally better to err on the side of permitting purchasers the facility to express themselves.  Moderators should keep things flowing but must avoid keeping the conversation on a predetermined trail.  The more you purchasers are allowed to have free talks the more the company will learn and the more involved the customers will become. 

Do not target always selling the product or service.  There will be a huge enticement to target the selling facet of your product or service.  This is falling back into the old model of advertising.  This would be a mistake in approach.  The customer wants to be heard not told.  They need to know you are really listening to them and not always selling them.  This will permit shoppers to express new ideas that will help enhance your service or product.  Ideas or comments will come much more frequently and freely when the players do not feel the only purpose of the site is to sell them something.  The conversations should be about the things the community is interested in. 

Look for consultations outside your own site and get embroiled.  Look for common areas of interest between yourself and members of the community.  Become involved in talks on other sites that have one or two of your community members.  Target areas that you’re really enthusiastic about.  This is going to help lend creditability to you and the discussions you are involved in.  It’ll also steer you to comments and views about your company that you could have otherwise missed. 

Ensure you have someone directing your Web 2.0 effort who is acquainted with Web 2.0.  The people leading the charge into the Web 2.0 world should be trained in working in that world.  You can start with the typical executive but ensure they receive the coaching critical to acquire the data they will need to achieve success.  You’ll then have to seethe the department with others who’ve proved track records of performance and the capacity to learn the abilities obligatory.  In several cases, this can mean hiring folks with experience in different aspects of the Web 2.0 experience. 

Confirm everyone understands that change and experimentation are your pals.  In the world of the internet and Web 2.0 things are moving fast.  The thingthat worked today may become harmful tomorrow.  You can’t be frightened to screw up.  The people in this office have to grasp and embrace this idea.  The arena of mobile communication is an illustration of something that only 5 years ago was not even on the radar screen.  Today that is the swiftest growing segment of Web 2.0 out there.  Not being prepared to take a look at new avenues could be a company’s downfall. 

Make an effort to research the arena of Web 2.0.  The opportunities are unlimited but the competition is hard.  Gone are the days on simply winging it.  Hunt down executives who have got a confirmed past record and start taking advantage of this fast changing and dynamic opportunity.        

business-development-marketing.com is a Socially conscious website with marketing resources for the web 2.0 world.

Get More YouTube Views and Start Making Money!

We live in a Web 2.0 world. What does that mean? Essentially, the Internet is no longer a static environment; today's Internet is dynamic and interactive. One testament to that is the arrival of so many social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook, which allow us to connect with the people in our lives in a whole new way. In the same way, video-sharing site YouTube allows us to share what we have to say with anyone who is willing to listen, worldwide. That opens up a whole new level of possibility when it comes to promoting your business. Not sure how YouTube can benefit your business? Keep reading. By the end of this article you'll have learned everything you need to know to market your business on YouTube. The ultimate goal is to establish yourself as an expert in your field.

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Bing and LeapFish Slugging it Out for Social Search Aggregation Lead

Well, the hoopla over Bing is over. The wonders of Microsoft’s decision engine are now known to the world via a media blitz powerful enough to shame a Superbowl advertising rep.

But to many of us who have been watching the development of upstart social search aggregation engine LeapFish, the wonders of Bing were more yawn inspiring than awe inspiring.

LeapFish brought social search aggregation to a whole new level. Try them out at LeapFish.com. Do a quick search and you’ll notice the tightly parsed RSS blocks with cool Ajaxified content flipping features. These let you flip through content layers without leaving the search results page. Look familiar?

Scroll down to the video section. How about those dynamic loading mouseover video previews? Just like Bing eh?

Don’t miss the cool ‘Share’ feature that lets you quickly and easily repost the scraped content back to your favorite social bookmarking service.

These and many other on page effects are what make Bing and LeapFish so unique. But ask the folks at LeapFish and they’ll tell you they were first with all of these developments.

I spoke with a LeapFish rep yesterday and pointed some of these similarities out to her. She was adamant that LF was first to market with these interface features. She proudly explained how they have been in serious dev since rebranding Leapfish from it’s earlier iteration as a domain appraisal service.

Okay fair enough, but how can you compete with the mashup style of the Bing metasearch (also known as a decision engine)?

We’re wathing and waiting…

Meanwhile the search wars continue. As always we urge our clients to stick to networking and content power and let the aggregation services pull us into the web. No matter who wins the fight for eyeballs, we win the war.

Dwayne Coots