Leverage Blog: How to Exploit the Web.

Web 2.0

Why should the small-medium business exec. care about web 2.0?

Because the venture capital firm Draper Fisher will be funding the web 2.0 startup TagWorld?  (Props to Michael Arrington for the news.) Not exactly.  Web 2.0 is important because it will impact the way your customers work with you.

Web 2.0 describes a new generation of websites that are more dynamic. Rather than a solitary experience, like reading a newspaper online or browsing through a catalog, these sites enable visitors to interact with each other.

For example, think about a photo-sharing site where visitors can upload vacation images.  A web 2.0 site enables other visitors to post a comment on each photo.  And each photo can have keywords associated with it (called tags) to make it easy for people to find the photo (i.e., paris, eiffel tower...) And visitors can group together their favorite photos for everyone to see.  And the site will show everyone what is most popular at that moment.

Wow. Visit Flickr.com to experience it.

The more users that add their opinion the more visibility the information will garner.  Communities are forming around special interests, and the trend will continue.

What will the online communities that develop around your companies product or service say about you?

Viral Marketing

Viral Marketing.

Broadly put, viral marketing is the practice of people outside your company to promoting you.  You'll also hear the term WOM, or word-of-mouth marketing, or "buzz" marketing, and the Fortune 1000 has been successfully using this tactic for 6-7 years.

More than a customer referral, a product or service that has gone viral has inspired people to shout from the rooftops, call their friends and email their associates. They are proactive and loyal. And they're your most valuable resource because the people they are talking-to trust their endorsement.

Do things to make your service viral.  Do them now.  Identify the customers that are opinion-leaders and engage them. Ask them to help shape your service, give them a title, provide them with a discount.

Recommendation:  Get started today.

Brand, Branding, Brand Marketing

A client yesterday asked me for my definition of a brand and why they matter. While not specific to internet marketing, I thought I would share part of my response:

Brands are among the most intangible of corporate assets, but if skillfully developed and managed they are capable of delivering enormous profits. At their peak, brands lift products and services sharply over the commodity level. They confer status, inspire emotional connection, and help the consumer identify what they are. Elevate the brand and your customer suddenly becomes less price-conscious and more loyal.

Websites are a great branding opportunity for branding because your clear, persuasive, effective content is available 24/7.

Great long-term benefits.  Invest today.

Welcome

Welcome to the Wheel Media weblog, a internet marketing digest for the small-medium enterprise. My goal is to provide business leaders with some tools to make smart decisions about design and marketing online.  I look forward to educating, inspiring and learning from my clients and peers.

For those who are new to this medium, it's designed to be interactive and open; a free-flowing site of ideas. I'll know I'm succeeding if I stir my visitors and customers to action-- adding their comments to the blog and more importantly, creating internet marketing strategies, funding and staffing them adequately, executing, and evaluating.  Exploit the web!

I'll touch on smart web design, discuss new and evolving tactics like search engine optimization (SEO), tagging, blogging, email marketing, and more.  I've got a long reading list of books and other blogs filled with brilliant ideas, as well as tips on conferences and smart startups. I welcome your comments, your emails and your success.

The SME has so much to gain from the internet:  Let's get to it.

Michael

Internet marketing tactics to exploit: An overview

On an ongoing basis I'll be providing brief definitions and explanations of the marketing strategies and tactics used on the web today.  Many are not new and have been proven by the Fortune 2000 business community, while others will be innovative and evolving, and some are not limited to the label of 'internet marketing,' but classic approaches that leverage the net effectively.

Because my core focus is the executive of the small-medium enterprise (SME) I will keep these posts high-level and brief-- about a 30-second read.  My goal is to give my clients and readers a quick overview of the opportunities; to get you thinking about how these tools might align with your business, and how to evaluate and prioritize.  Questions?  My email address is on the About page.

Some tactics will be newer than others (blog marketing, for example, versus the more-established search engine optimization and permission-email.)

Watch for the 'getting started' posts.