Whereas regular marketing was a process of message generation and delivered by a one-way process (marketer to customer), Web 2.0 marketing is controlled by peer-to-peer communication.
The rise of social media powered by Web 2.0 is as dramatic a change for marketing as the telephone was for voice communications, and is described by Wikipedia as "the online tools and platforms that people use to share opinions, insights, experiences, and perspectives with each other."
In an era where customers can openly and freely discuss your products and services, and post compliments and complaints that can be discovered by thousands of Internet users - marketers need to not only be aware of, but be involved in, social marketing, as well.
Peers trust these reviews - social proof is extremely powerful, and though you cannot control others' messages, you can influence the direction of the conversation by being involved.
Here are some ways for internet marketers to start embracing the social marketing phenomenon.
Learn about it
Know the different platforms that are available, and see how each is being used to great effect. Research those that are a good fit for your niche.
Include it in your plan
While Web 2.0 marketing opportunities can pop up without any involvement from you, it is useful to think strategically about committing your online marketing resources. Keep an eye out for natural opportunities for social marketing.
Communicate
Social media sites rely on two (or many) way communication and there are many ways of joining in. Add tools like blogs, wikis, tags, surveys and quizzes, videos and audios to your websites - and enable comments on blogs.
Don't expect to site back and wait for visitors to your site. You need to participate in conversations in others' blogs, in forums, on Twitter etc.
Good content travels
Make valuable and interesting posts that readers will just have to bookmark, and share - it's a type of viral marketing. Interesting and original content gets forwarded rapidly - just like a virus. Fresh content is gobbled up quickly. Encourage visitors to bookmark and tag your content - do it by including bookmark buttons clearly on your site and posts.
Sight and Sound
Video sharing sites like YouTube are too big a marketing opportunity to overlook, so go out of your way to create short videos and post them to YouTube and other video-sharing sites. The search engines will reward you with good rankings, and your message will be seen by a potential audience of millions. As well, how-to's, interviews, and inspirational stories can be recorded as podcasts. Set up newsfeeds for releases of audio and video content so your audience can opt in and be notified of new releases
By engaging your audience, social media marketing gives you the opportunity to turn strangers into followers and followers into customers. These followers will become your online sales reps. They will promote your products and services for as long as you deliver value.
The best way to get top social media exposure is providing original and interesting content that readers will just have to share with their peers.
The short answer to this question, is that it depends. Social networks can be fun, but if you are a pseudo-workaholic like me, then they are a waste of time. Then you have the social networks that are spam-fests.
Get tied up with them, and you're in spam hell. One site that I have found well worth the time and effort is the AllStar Intelligent Marketing Network.
This is a group of affiliate marketers for the most part that are looking for ways and sharing ideas that will maximize their income, or so they hope. The bottom line is, they are serious about what the do, and the site operator makes every attempt to prevent the spam-fests.
They've got some pretty useful and awesome information on the site. It only launched on February 23rd and has already reached close to 200 members, so it's growing pretty quick.
They have some pretty interesting articles on marketing and affiliate marketing that change on a regular basis, and it's rumored that there is an affiliate marketing academy in the works too that's supposed to be the most comprehensive course of its kind. The site is at http://www.allstar-marketing.com and I would recommend it to anyone who is serious about online marketing.
One of the cool things about the site is they will allow you to promote your business from your profile. As long as the blog posts aren't spammy, and your categorize your forum posts correctly, you're good to go.
They'll even let you create your own groups over there if you have something that you are really into. I've only joined one, and it's purpose is to expose online scams. In a day when everyone is trying to charge you, it's refreshing to find a place that let's you promote yourself without bugging you for money!
If you get a chance to stop by, I highly recommend it!
Both James Schramko & John Derossett are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.