Web 2.0: Let the People Engage!
June 20, 2007
Kelowna, BC
An article for immediate perusal, consumption and digestion
Acro Media Inc. proclaims:
Web 2.0: Let the People Engage!
If you’ve heard the term ‘Web 2.0’ but can’t define it precisely, join the club. Since its coinage in 2004, it’s become a catch-all term for a truckload of new and not-so-new activities and applications for sharing and collaborating on the Internet. And if you use the Web for marketing/selling, you might really benefit (i.e. ka-ching, ka-ching) by incorporating Web 2.0 functionality into your site.
If that definition of ‘Web 2.0’ above is too nebulous for you, do what others do some 7 billion times a month: consult Wikipedia.org. A recent study reported that 36% of American adult Internet users do, and I’d bet a cuppa Timmy’s* that we Canucks compare very closely.
A ‘wiki’ lets users create, browse and search information on the Internet. Volunteers contributed Wikipedia’s 7.2 million articles, and although anyone can theoretically edit them, volunteer editors/peers must approve changes before they are published to the Web. Apparently, people inherently trust people.
When it comes to purchasing advice, we more and more tend to give more credence to people with whom we can identify, rather than to the marketing writers who get paid to promote. Hmmm, maybe I should change my job title and up my cred level ….
Here are some ways my co-workers at Acro Media use Web 2.0 to give or get “the goods” on the goods and services they seek, while avoiding the hype:
- D., a sports car owner, buys performance tires in consideration of independent consumer reviews on tirerack.com.
- S. checks her Facebook and MySpace inboxes to plan her social calendar. Local bands send notices of upcoming gigs, friends send party invites, images and links.
- T. buys computer bits on eBay, relying (and contributing to) peer ratings of the seller’s trustworthiness
- J. and C., wedding photographers, encourage clients to let friends preview wedding shots online.
Herein lies Web 2.0’s value: leveraging collective intelligence and consensus through peer authoring and review, and bidding ‘sayonara’ to the traditional, top-down dissemination of info. Web 2.0 technologies inform and promote from within a constituency, and make use of user-supplied content.
You let your community speak, retain editorial powers to ensure quality, accuracy and legality of content, and legitimately gather useful information about your market’s preferences and concerns.
As examples:
- The Association of Film Commissioners site (afci.org) represents over 300 film commissions worldwide. Each member can post news on the site and promote themselves on their own linked site, accessed by viewers via an awesome map-based geographical tool or text search
- Filefront.com members (gamesters) upload video game screen clips, submit blogs, converse in forums and rate games.
- Pennystocks.net members rate brokers, read free investment blogs and congregate to talk money.
- Pixtorie.com members submit picture files to build individual custom scrapbooks online.
These sites work well because they are user-centered, collaborative and “sticky” – they compel their viewers to return. And there's a new view each time they do. These days, a site’s power may very well reside in users’ preference for new content, especially that which favours “consensus over credentials.”
So ask yourself: Have you recently wasted a few minutes watching and rating an inane video, and then forwarded it to a friend? Completed a poll? Engaged in a forum? Reviewed a product? Read a blog? It’s highly likely your target market has too. Know them better and you will better know how to engage them.
So let the people participate. Present your complementary activities. Listen and refine. Prosper.
Embrace the 2.0 spirit!
*For non-Canadian readers, Timmy's -- or Tim Hortons -- is our nation's most popular coffee shop chain. There are 2,723 stores across Canada, and over 339 locations in the United States, too.
(Adapted from an article printed in the June ’07 edition of ‘Business Thompson Okanagan’)
Have you any questions or comments? Can we help you at all with your Internet-based marketing needs? Please contact:
Duane Bentley, Marketing Manager
Tel +1.250.763.8884
Free +1.877.763.8844
media@acromediainc.com
About Acro Media
Acro Media is a professional Web design company and full service Web marketing firm delivering:
- Branding, logo designs, & identity packages
- Corporate marketing & communication
- Web site design & implementation
- Web site promotion & Internet marketing
- Ecommerce software solutions & Web site hosting
- Custom software & Web applications
- Multimedia/Flash design & development
The privately held interactive agency is BC's second largest, and very likely, the world's friendliest. Our team of 31 eagerly await your Web-based mission. Standing by.