The New Marketing Rules for Web 2.0

Web 2.0 and the varied technologies that accompany it offer businesses as well as customers opportunities to reach out to each other in ways that were never before possible. It has, in effect, turned the old marketing establishment on its head and created a new world that is characterized by horizontal innovation, absolute transparency and freedom of expression.

The internet is changing at an amazing speed. Understanding and embracing the new rules for Web 2.0 is imperative for any online business to survive and thrive in the next century.

The following 5 rules will help you grasp the Web 2.0 marketing phenomenon.

Rule #1- Maneuver community participation

Connecting with others who share a common interest and interacting with them develops long lasting bonds, not to mention loyalty. Studies show that attempting to directly influence customers has less impact than providing them the necessary support to interact with each other through activities on their brand community. This, in turn, could drastically increase their level of loyalty and commitment.

Marketers need to use this principle as the basis for their online communities. Customers who are already loyal to the brand’s products or services will automatically be drawn to the brand’s online community and participate in group activities.

This increases their likelihood of remaining attached to the community longer, buying more often and also recommending it to non-members.

Rule #2: Listen to customers, don’t just talk to them

Users come to your site to gather, share, and exchange information. They are looking for dynamic information and interactivity. Most importantly, they want to be heard. If they wanted only to listen to your message or look at your product descriptions, they would have simply gone to your static website. A one way marketing conversation no longer interests or engages customers.

Web 2.0 offers marketers a vast array of technologies such as online communities, blogs, chat rooms and forums that can help facilitate two way conversations between them and their customers. Giving customers an equal opportunity to say what they want—and actually listening and implementing their recommendations—strengthens the bond and deepen customer loyalty.

Rule #3: React Instantly

In Web 2.0, time is calculated in seconds, not minutes and hours. It is critical for marketers to respond to comments and suggestions as soon as they have been posted. Not reacting swiftly enough can make the customer feel unimportant and ignored, leading to a lot of adverse publicity via blogs and other forums.

It's not important to respond to every whim and complaint of every customer. But, it is important for community members (i.e. customers or potential customers) to see that your are involved and that you can handle yourself with integrity.

Rule #4: Facilitate and Collaborate

Content is the foundation of collaborative websites. For a collaborative website to be effective there has to be continuous facilitation, more so at the beginning of the initiative.

It is imperative for plenty of valuable content to be created upfront before generating collaboration. If you initiate a collaborative website that generates a few meager comments you could be exposing yourself to prowling critics.

Rule #5: Reward your best users

Marketers can enhance brand value and create customer loyalty by delivering informative and useful content regularly to their customers and community members.

Optimize content discovery and delivery by making it easy for customers to find information and share it with others by means of links and feeds.

Extend existing loyalty initiatives by offering premium content, access to exclusive information and special promotions to long standing customers.

Start Now

These five rules are a starting point for your organization to take advantage of the emerging Web 2.0 standards. The most important rule is to begin investigating what will work best for your organization and then put it into practice.

 

Written by: David C Skul - CEO

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