Social Marketing and Web 2.0 Sites

First published on Qassia

The Information Super Highway has proven to be a powerful medium for any business owner to get the word out about their product or service. However, internet users have become more sophisticated in just WHAT they will respond to.

Banner ads and blantant sales copy - what once drove online business profits into the stratosphere - no longer produces the sales and high 'return on investment' it used to. Instead, internet users have become banner blind and have developed an aversion to being 'sold to'.

Instead, what works today to generate a buzz about a new product or service is word of mouth, Web 2.0 style.

Web 2.0 describes today's new genre of websites - Sites that not only encourage, but actually exist on the input submitted by their users. Sites like MySpace, Digg, StumbleUpon and the like are a meeting ground for millions of internet users to share their favorite stories, links, websites, and more.

The free sharing of information at popular Web 2.0 sites can give savvy internet marketers instant, viral, and massive exposure for their products and services. But only if they know how to use Web 2.0 sites the right way.

The used-car-salesman technique is out. Even the 'soft sell' doesn't work here. Instead, Web 2.0 sites require giving and sharing - Offering real, interesting, useful information to these users builds trust. Do that, and they will be compelled to visit your website to find out more about you AND your product. If they like what they see, they'll share it with their friends and a viral traffic surge to your website begins.

Let's face it - we're ALL tired of junk mail, spam, and pop-up ads.  Instead, a recommendation from someone we know and trust gets our attention.  Knowing how to use this philosophy with Web 2.0 sites is a requisite for any internet marketer and webmaster who wants to succeed online today and into the future.

Article by Deborah Casey  (who also happens to be the Admin at Web 2.0 Media Marketing).

Tags: web 2.0, invitation to qassia, web 2.0 sites, web marketing

Tags: FaceBook marketing, social networking sites, guides to social network marketing, marketing on social network sites