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How Web 2.0 Has Forever Changed Online Business
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Web 2.0, or interactive web sites such as weblogs, social bookmarking sites, wikis, podcasts, RSS feeds, social software, Web APIs and other similar sites have changed the way online business is done forever. If you own your own business or wish to sell a product or service online, you will be far more successful if you learn to effectively deal with the new Web 2.0 environment. Luckily, this innovation in the way Internet users use cyberspace can actually help your business.
Google No Longer King?
One of the effects of Web 2.0 might be that Google is not necessarily the first place that customers turn to when searching for information. Although the popular search engine continues to be a popular place for information, many online customers are becoming more comfortable searching through Web 2.0 sites for recommendations and information. Rather than dealing with advertisements and other irrelevant information results gleaned from Google, for example, some users are turning to social interactive sites to ask for reviews of products or services.
No one is suggesting that you throw out that SEO philosophy yet - search engine rankings are still important. However, today, a presence on the most popular Web 2.0 sites is equally important. The exciting thing is that even without ideal search engine rankings, you can become a star in Web 2.0. Your Facebook page may get plenty of hits even if your main web site isn't in the top 1,000 Google ranked pages.
The secret may be to tackle the marketing from both sides. On the one hand, work to create a good web site that gets decent rankings. That way, the customers who are using Google might find you. On the other hand, be sure to build your presence in the Web 2.0 environment too. Find out which interactive web sites your customers are heading to, and then make your presence known on those sites too. It's a good way to encourage traffic to your site and a great way to ensure that your business is not overlooked.
Customer Interactivity
Unless you have been living under a rock, you likely already know that the big news in Web 2.0 is the way that it encourages interactivity. In the old web days, a business created a web site and then customers or clients came and looked at the site. In the Web 2.0 game, that's all changed. Now, customers, clients and everyone they know has their own online presence that they change as often as they like. Plus, people can change each other's web spaces via comments and added graphics.
Many businesses have an immediate dislike of this system. After all, it means that one dissatisfied customer can spread his poor opinion of a company like wild fire. Before businesses go running for the hills, though, they should consider the flip side: happy customers can easily spread the good news about a new company just as rapidly. It's important to remember, too, that businesses are not exactly helpless when it comes to customer interactivity. They can easily respond to charges and work to create their own web presence to counteract any poor customer reviews.
Multi-Platform Marketing and Flexible Branding
At one time, branding was a very monochromatic thing. You chose a demographic for your business, you chose a logo and image and you're stuck with that brand name and image through all your business letterhead, web site design and email correspondence.
Well, Web 2.0 lets businesses think outside the cubicle. Now, multiple platform branding is possible and even desirable. Companies can create irreverent employee blogs to attract younger customers as well as more "serious" web sites for established clients. It is possible to have a few different images of your business online - and isn't that more realistic, anyway? |
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