Web 2.0 is one of those terms that seems to have gotten out of hand lately. Everyone has his or her own idea of what Web 2.0 is. Some people believe that it is a technology, some people believe that it is a made up phrase, a buzzword so to speak, used only for falsely enhancing a company’s image. Others believe it is specific software, and still others believe that it is a theory of operating on the web.
Web 2.0 Defined, Finally!
Web 2.0 is a concept. Yep, its that simple, it is an abstract idea. The O’Reilly Network, owned by Tim O’Reilly the creator of the Web 2.0 concept tells people to visualize Web 2.0 as a set or principles and practices that tie together a veritable solar system of sites.
The sites that he’s referring to are sites like Wikipedia, Google, Amazon, YouTube and other websites that offer users a rich user experience. Using an online bookstore as an example, Web 2.0 is the difference between going to an online store and purchasing a book and going to a store and being able to read reviews, leave reviews, participate in a chat room or blog, create favorites lists, and even communicate with the author. In many cases websites that use the Web 2.0 concept, the users define the content and guide the experience.
So if users are defining the content, how does an online marketer create content for the web? What is different between Web 1.0, or the time before the big dot.com bubble burst, and todays Internet concept?
Content Goals and Web 2.0
With any website, pre or post 2.0, you have a few goals:
- You want to drive traffic to your website
- You want to keep people at your website
- You want to encourage people to return to your website
- And you want them to make purchases.
These tasks are all still accomplished by the content that you provide. Whether it is in the form of an advertisement placed on another website to draw traffic to your site, information in the form of articles, tutorials, ebooks, reports, or blogs, or it is sales material you want to accomplish two main goals.
- You want to grab your prospects attention. This is most often accomplished with a compelling benefit driven headline or subject line.
- You want to provide them a benefit. This means that the content must provide quality information.
Web 2.0 doesn’t make these goals trickier or more difficult, in fact the ability to interact with your customers makes marketing, and marketing copy easier, more interesting, and significantly more effective than offering your prospects a standard brochure and hoping that they buy.
How to Use Web 2.0 to Your Company’s Advantage
As with any website, the more you can make it interactive and user friendly the better the website will be. Take just a moment and consider your favorite website. When you’re sitting on the couch in the evening watching television, what website do you surf? Why do you surf it?
Conversely, when you’re looking for information on the web, what sites turn you off? What websites do you leave immediately?
Chances are the difference between a website that causes you to linger and spend hours of your time exploring and a website that is forgotten as soon as you click away, is the level of interactivity available.
You can add this type of interactivity to your own website in a number of ways:
- Blogs
- Reviews
- Forum or chat room
- Articles with embedded links
- Testimonials
- Quizzes, surveys, and even newsletter subscription forms
- Searchable index of content
- Tutorials
- Interactive web pages
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