The Right Tools for Web 2.0 Marketing

As an entrepreneur in today’s rapidly changing world, you need to be quick if you want your business to succeed — especially online.

New ideas, new techniques and tools and putting them to good use, you can create more marketing buzz and increase your profits exponentially.  In a scenario that has already been revolutionized by the Internet, Web 2.0 is changing all the dynamics.

More importantly, though, you need the content that it will require to succeed.  Though Web 2.0 marketing tools are readily and easily available, the key to your business success is knowing how and when you are prepared to support the Web 2.0 technology on a consistent basis.

Here are three popular Web 2.0 marketing tools and a few tips to help you decide how and when to deploy them:

Podcasting
It is not wise to use your podcast for marketing until you are ready to commit to contributing frequent, informative, and helpful information.  Podcasting, a media file that is distributed over the internet to be produced and updated on a regular basis in order to keep customer interest alive.

Blogging
Blogs have become an indispensable online marketing tool for marketers looking for site expansion, search engine optimization, cross-linking and generally increasing their internet presence.

However, before launching your own blog, it is important to remember that your audience will expect your blog to change often and offer something new when it does change.  For startups, blogs provide the perfect platform for reaching out to target audiences and engaging them in an interactive online communication.

Your users will post comments, which you are obligated to reply to. Equally important, keep in mind a blog is a conversation. Publishing one post every couple of months will not generate the traffic you need to stay committed to updating it regularly.Fresh content is one of the few features that will keep them coming back for more.

Some of the more popular hosted blogging services include WordPress, Blogger, LiveJournal and TypePad.  Once you’ve decided to use blogging as a marketing tool, using a hosted blogging service is the easiest way to set it up.

User-generated ratings & content
While it’s a great way of reaching out to your customers and getting feedback, don’t launch it until you are ready to respond to user-generated content is the deciding factor and it can either make or break your business.  Whether it's being able to generate their own content on your website or rate content in the customer help section; customers are reacting favorably to investing time in communicating with you.



Date: August 13, 2008

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