Marketing in a Web 2.0 World -- It’s Still About Stories and Conversation, Just More So

There has been a lot of hyperbole about web. 2.0 leading us into a new world of communications. It is true that these new tools are making all marketing professionals re-think their strategies as traditional methods of advertising and PR are expanded to include Internet and mobile communications.

But the basics still remain: marketing is about telling your story and managing the conversation about that story.

‘Telling your story’ means you need to understand what you are doing/selling, who you are and why that is important. This is referred to as differentiation in the marketplace. But the second half of the equation, ‘managing the conversation’ was often viewed in bottom line terms of ‘I tell about my product/service, then you buy.’ There was limited opportunity for the buyer to give feedback.

Web 2.0 allows you to tell your story in added ways and makes the conversation more real. At anytime, someone can comment about your story, bursting the myth that you, as a business, can control the message. (See blog entry, “The Old Myth: Controlling the Message.") But looked at from a different perspective, this presents a wonderful opportunity to tell your story and have it reaffirmed many ways.

Many corporations, like Microsoft, have figured out that the conversation can actually help them deliver a better product. When developing Internet Explorer 7, they invited feedback about what users wanted, and the issues they were concerned about. Consumer feedback is crucial to refining your product for optimum use in the marketplace. And, the most powerful tool for generating brand loyalty is the notion that ‘I am heard and my voice/opinion matters’.

This is an exciting time for marketing communications and marketing strategy. As businesses embrace the learning curve and get up to speed, I look forward to robust conversations between business and consumers that lead to better products and better service. And that has to be good for the bottom line as well as a better world.

So give us your feedback. What do you think?