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As the buzzwords go Web 2.0 is the current reigning deity. But how can one small businessman tap into it to make it work for his business? This article offers some tips to sync one’s marketing strategies with web 2.0 scenario.

Want To Make Web 2.0 Work For Your Business?

Silicon Valley loves its buzzwords, and none more than it does Web 2.0 these days. But what exactly is it in terms of website development and strategic internet marketing? Unless you’re a diehard techie, wish you good luck in figuring out what it means.

Web 2.0 technologies bearing names like wikis, blogs, RSS, AJAX, mashups and the startups hawking them — Renkoo, Gahbunga, Ning, Squidoo sound to be straight out of Star Wars, right up Mr. George Lucas’ alley.

So what does all this mumbo-jumbo means to a normal businessman &ndash a value multiplier or ‘only for geeks’ stuff? Rest assured Mr. Businessman, for all its appeal to the young, the nerds and the wired; Web 2.0 may end up making its greatest impact in business.

And this could well prove to be the one vehicle to usher in more changes in corporations that are already in the throes of such tech-driven transformations as globalization and outsourcing. Indeed, what some are calling Enterprise 2.0 could transcend the whole lot of organizational boundaries, between managers and employees and between the company and its partners and customers.

So how does one go about making Web 2.0 work for his/her business? Let’s see how:

1. Work out a plan

Don’t dive in just for the sake of keeping abreast with the changing world and its technology. Be clear about what you’re trying to accomplish, how and where Web 2.0 can help your business, how much you’re willing to invest and what time frame you are working on. Plan ahead!

2. Good content is the key

Web 2.0 is the social web, but it’s still content-driven. And the control lies in the hands of the users here, mind you! You might think yourself to be the smartest marketing man this side of the Suez but remember, it is the user who would determine how good or bad you are. Lousy content leads to lousy marketing, no matter how flashy it is. Make your content relevant, interesting and real. Put yourself in your customer’s shoes, ask yourself questions you would as a customer and answer those with your content.

3. Be information provider not a salesman

Help, inform, educate but do not sell. Web 2.0 is all about people connecting by helping each other. No salesmen allowed! Think education, not advertising. Deliver useful, nuts and bolts stuff or honest opinions they can believe. That’s how you build credibility and trust that lead to new customer relationships.

4. Have a free hosted blog

WordPress and Blogger both have very useful and simple blogs you can setup for free. Use them to start blogging and get a feel for how it works and how people use Web 2.0. Dip your toe in the water to test it before diving straight in.

5. Do it yourself

Web 2.0 is about being real. It’s real people connecting with each other. Make sure you or your employees create the content and do the work to start with. And when scales demand it, hire a professional company offering strategic internet marketing services. Still keep tab on what they are doing and what they are writing.

Surf blogs, YouTube, Google Videos, Del.icio.us, Digg, Reddit, StumbleUpon, Technorati and other social media websites. Get a feel for how they work and who goes there. Become part of some social media communities. Make new friends online. Get in touch with professional web development companies and firms providing internet marketing services well versed in Web 2.0 tools and marketing ways. Immerse yourself in the Web 2.0 culture so you know how it works and where and how it fits in smoothly with your marketing plans.

Companies selling goods and services over the Internet need to employ web based marketing tactics that serve to draw traffic to their website, improve visitors-to-buyers ratios and increase the amount each buyer spends. The use of the web as a marketing tool is a challenge because Internet users are now much more mission oriented in their web behavior and are less inclined to surf or allow themselves to be enticed into entering a web path that deviates from their intended destination.

The effectiveness of an online marketing program is dependent on the extent to which it succeeds in reaching the intended target audience at a time when the marketing message is relevant to the target. Initially it was believed that the web, with its data mining capabilities, would open up dramatic new opportunities to marketers, but the initial enthusiasm has proven exaggerated, largely because marketers were unclear in how they defined relevant and bombarded consumers with automated marketing messages that proved to have little genuine relevance to the site visitor.

The lesson to be learned from the initial shortcomings of online marketing is that people cannot be fooled into believing something is relevant just because a banner advertisement or window pops up on their computer screen. Nor can we, as professional online marketers, assume that relevancy is determined by the immediate activity of the web user. Not everyone searching a site on telecommunications want to buy a book on the topic. True, they might have a greater interest than someone who never visits a telecommunications website, but that is not the same as relevancy.

The real way to guarantee relevancy is to allow the user to determine what is relevant to him or her at any given moment. It’s true that this is being done to some extent by having a presence where relevancy might occur. Still, the challenge to online marketers is to create new tactics or new twists on existing tactics that will serve the interests of online marketers by serving the needs of online buyers.

Search engines allow online users to declare relevancy by electing the topics to which they wish to be directed. Registering your site with the search engines will help drive traffic to your site. Effective registration is a three-phase process. You need to (1) be identified by the search engines, (2) be placed relatively close to the top of the search list, and (3) get selected by the searcher. Hints for effective use of search engines include:

* Don’t wait for the search engine crawlers to find you. Submit the URLs you want listed to the search engines. You’ll need to be patient though. The birthrate of new websites is such that it could take a few weeks before your site actually gets listed.

* Keep resubmitting your URL. Even the best search engines only feature about 10% of the web pages out there. With more than a billion pages on the web the task is overwhelming and getting more so every day. Still, the huge number of new of web pages means that the search engines often have to remove existing pages in order to accommodate new ones. By resubmitting on a regular basis you will insure that even if you were bumped, you’re back on.

* Choose your search engines. Insofar as you do not want to make site submission a full time occupation, it is wise to select which search engines are most important for your company. In most cases you will elect to submit to the larger, more active engines, but if, for example you are in a specialized category, you may want to register with an engine dedicated to your sector as well.

* Use titles and meta tags. Search engines will rank titles and meta descriptions highly, so this will help you get placed more prominently in search results. Also, your title and description will most likely be used by the search engine in the search results, so make certain what you write is what you want the search results to show.

There are a number of online marketing tactics you can employ on your website:

* Personalize It – you can create a personal and ongoing relationship with your customers through the use of personalization. By providing your customers with a registration option, that comes with a variety of convenience-oriented benefits, you will be able to identify users as they login. You can then use the knowledge of their presence to welcome them and offer a level of personalized assistance. This will allow the consumer the chance to indicate their relevancy as they enter your website, giving you the chance to work in suggested products and impulse buys.

* Merchandise – traditional retailers use a variety of physical elements to promote the sale of goods in their stores. Some of these include scent machines, music, lighting and shelf placement. Your online entity needs to merchandise its goods without the benefit of these subliminal influences. It is therefore essential that you present your products in an orderly and logical manner. Make sure to incorporate sophisticated search engines that provide the consumer with the ability to search regardless of their perspective of the product. Also, when presenting merchandise it is best to offer a photo, as well as in-depth product specifications. Some sites also offer consumer reviews and products of the day. Both of these are effective and useful merchandising strategies.

* Have Good Web Architecture – when designing the architecture of your site keep in mind the consumer experience and strive to construct a site that provides the greatest possible levels of convenience, information and comfort. The way products are presented is only part of the puzzle. You must also pay attention to the user path, the check out and payment process, and the placement of special offers. You are aiming to create a gratifying and enjoyable consumer experience. Design your website to deliver.

* Use E-mail – mail can serve as a valuable marketing tool provided you structure your messages well and avoid engaging in spam. Use your e-mail campaign to develop a relationship with your shoppers, allowing them access to special offers and updates about new product offerings.

* Practice Loyalty Marketing – loyalty marketing is valuable because it creates a bond between you and your customers and gives them an incentive to come back and buy from your website again. Some loyalty programs allow buyers to earn points that can be redeemed at a variety of network-affiliated websites. Other programs allow points to be converted to cash. You also have the option of developing your own incentive loyalty program, although Tudog does not recommend this unless you are prepared to provide extremely attractive rewards. There is a consumer perception of added value in programs that allow for redemption through multiple sites or as cash. The important thing to keep in mind is that loyalty programs show customers that you appreciate their business and they in turn reward you with repeat purchases.

* Develop an Affiliate Network – affiliates serve your site by creating points-of-awareness at various websites of similar or related interests, and can serve to create credibility through association. There are affiliate management services, such as Commission Junction (.commissionjunction.com) and Be Free (.befree.com) that can lend exposure to your affiliate effort.

Consumer e-commerce has taken a beating in the last 18 months or so, but just as many pundits exaggerated its potential, so too are they now exaggerating reports of its demise. If you have an e-commerce site, or think adding one to your brick and mortar operation will enhance sales, there is an audience of millions of web users who are still open to responding to your marketing gesture – provided it is compelling, appealing and relevant.

I have been working with a lot of Entrepreneur’s over the last 6 years as a consultant, a business leader, and one myself. There are two types of Entrepreneurs and I have definitions for them:

1. Successful Entrepreneur

2. Unsuccessful Entrepreneur

3. New Entrepreneur

Not very catchy definitions are they? Let me define them based on their characteristics because the “New Entrepreneur” out there could save them self a lot of headache if they look for behavior that generally leads them to failure.

Sucessful Entrepreneurs

These guys are easy. They know the game. They understand why you build a business. They do it over and over again because they love the challenge. They are not in it for their egos, the idea, or the need to have President on their business card. They do it because they can’t do anything else, but build things and then sell it off. They get it started, then hand it off to people to run it.

Unsuccessful Entrepreneurs

Things just don’t work out for the Unsuccessful Entrepreneur. More often than not, they keep on trying, and get it a little more right next time. Eventually, some become successful. Often, they give up and return to the safety net of a 40 hour per week job. Their idea, product, or service just does not solve anyone’s problem, but their own.

New Entrepreneurs

I have a lot of respect for people that venture out into their own or try to turn an idea into action. These are people that generally don’t fit into the corporate structure, are generally liberal minded (not to confuse the Rush Limbaugh listeners of the world, liberal minded means finding new ways of doing things from how it is always done. Or, it simply means outside the box thinking). Having the audacity to question how things are being done and suggest there is a better way to do it.

So the new Entrepreneur has this great idea! Then, they get excited because they could make a lot of money doing it! “I am going to be rich!” So, they embark on the emotional high of becoming an Entrepreneur. They become infatuated with their idea. It is the best idea and the only idea worth investing. Most need money to fund their idea, yet they don’t want to give anything up to get other people’s money. Their valuation of the business is way over inflated and they have no sales. Ego and control start to get in the way.

I have been involved in several start-up ventures and this is a common pattern that occurs. As I sit at the Venture Club of Indiana and listen to new ideas being pitched around the table, the pattern is there. The “New Entrepreneur” is excited about their great idea, yet they cannot really articulate how to make money with it. Their assumptions about their market are not well defined and they do not really understand what it takes to get a business going. They don’t understand why no one will invest in their business. They are passionate about the idea and their ego loves the fact that they can now put President on their business card.

So what is important for new Entrepreneurs? It is all about sales.

When I was President of the Indiana Entrepreneur’s Alliance, one of the guests to our meeting made an important point. He said, everyone says you need and accountant and a lawyer to get a business started. So, everyone goes out and gets and accountant and a lawyer to make you feel good about your idea. This is backwards. He points out that you need customers first to determine if the idea has merit, then go out and hire an accountant and a lawyer. Is what you are doing in demand and are people willing to pay for it?

In other words, it is about sales and marketing. As a New Entrepreneur is weighing the idea, the emphasis needs to be on sales and marketing. Get the idea, product, or service out there and see if someone will pay you for it. Do you need an infrastructure to support it? Yes. Do you need to be able to deliver it? Yes. But figure out what kind of expectations you can put out there and manage. As another successful Entrepreneur told me, don’t be afraid of success. You can always find money, if you have a book of business to show an investor. And, you can always find ways to deliver.

In our web consulting, we see the New Entrepreneur all the time. Some people are looking for the “Mirror”. “Come in and tell me that I am great, my idea is great, and that you can sell it the way I want it to be sold, even though I have had mediocre success to date.” In our case, the web plays an important part for most customers trying to sell products or services. They focus on their logo and their image, their name. Unsuccessful entrepreneurs gladly feed into their egos and leave results starving at the table.

The reality is New Entrepreneurs need to focus on results. In business, results equal sales and profits. Logos, names, and images can have value &ndash only if people buy because of the name, logo and image.

Get centered Answering the questions of your buyers:

1. What is it?

2. What is the value?

3. How do I get it?

4. Has anyone else used it?

a. What do they say?

b. If not? What is the edge I get with it?

5. Yes, I want one!

With limited resources and limited time, investment needs to be on finding the market, bringing them to you, engaging the market, and closing some deals or selling product. The question to always ask:

Is what I am doing or spending money going to help me generate more sales?

Case in point, people always feel like they need to reinvent something that has been tested to work. (Ok…I respect out of the box thinking, but dollars can be wasted on IT projects that bring very little value in the end). E-Commerce is an area that people feel the need to “customize”. We had a client that need to change e-Commerce systems because the one they were using did not support standard marketing practices for e-Commerce sites. Yet, they would not do it because the one they were using had a feature that really brought no value to the buyer or their business. Again, was what they were doing going to help them generate more sales? The answer was no, yet they chose to spend $20,000 when $3,500 would have done the job for the next five years.

So, New Entrepreneurs, here are some things to keep in mind:

1. No one cares about “the idea.” They care about what the idea will do for them.

2. Investors don’t care about “the idea.” They care if their investment in the idea will make them money.

3. Investors don’t invest in “the idea”, they invest in the people behind the idea. If you do not demonstrate your ability to execute, you will not get investment.

4. Being President of nothing with no sales has no value.

5. It’s about marketing and sales, particularly for start-ups.

a. Always ask, is what I am doing going to help me sell more?

b. Is what I am spending my money on going to help me sell more?

c. Can I apply metrics to what I am doing?

6. It’s about execution.

As it relates to the web marketing, the same rules apply. Here is the list to keep in mind:

1. The website visitor does not care about you, they care about what you can do for them. They want to know:

a. What is it?

b. What is the value?

c. How do I get it?

2. Before you spend money on an expensive website, can you answer these questions:

a. How big is the market?

b. What words do people use to search your product?

c. How much to advertise?

d. Who are your competitors?

e. What are they doing?

f. What are they not doing?

g. Who are the top ranked sites?

3. Have you budgeted for web marketing?

a. Monthly?

4. You are a new business, people don’t know you. And until you spend millions on drilling your brand into the American psyche, they aren’t going to know your brand from a hole in the ground. Use what you do, or what your customers call your product as your name. This strategy worked fine in the past and still works fine today. Evidence: International Business Machines, Advanced Micro Devices, American Telephone and Telegraph, General Motors, General Electric, National Cash Register, American Airlines and Budget Rent-a-Car. Not an obscure latin name with an interesting meaning only to you.

There is really nothing sexy about Internet marketing. It too is about execution. It is about results. It is not about corporate ego. It is about what your product or service does for the buyer and the investor.