As the Internet has grown with its huge database of information on varied sources, more and more people are spending their time online. This phenomenon has opened a new market of Internet advertising. Of the lucrative Internet marketing pie, Web 2.0 has a very important place. Web 2.0 refers to Internet-based services belonging to the second generation and consists of wikis, folksonomies, social-networking sites, blogs, video-sharing sites and mashups.

The reach of traditional form of advertising is limited and the whole process of developing the ad-copy and marketing it using the services of a PR person takes a lot of time, money and effort. On the other hand, Web 2.0 marketing has a wide pyramid-of-influence that can be reached pretty fast and using just a fraction of the cost that would have been used by traditional marketing methods to reach the same number of people. What’s more – with Web 2.0 marketing, geographical borders vanish and you can reach a global audience to market your products and/or services. However, you would need to do your own homework and become a web 2.0 marketing expert to reap the optimum benefits of this online media.

Unlike traditional advertising channels that were highly controlled and limited by nature, Web 2.0 marketing offers a much liberal space to customers where they can freely discuss about your products and services. So, against the traditional advertising channels that could only allow one-way messages, the dynamic arena of Web 2.0 marketing offers a much bigger participation for the consumers. Moreover, as everyone can generate and shape the message on Web 2.0, you can no longer control the nature of message, unlike the standard channels of traditional advertising like radio, print, and TV. As peer-to-peer communication and “word-of-mouth” marketing is the driving force of Web 2.0 marketing, you can spread your intended message in a viral fashion by doing proper planning for it. Just imagine what a cakewalk it would be to pass on a message related to your products and services to hundreds of friends and contacts all around the world with almost no cost and within a fraction of a second!

As you can’t control the nature of message that will get circulated on Web 2.0, the next best thing that you can do is to influence it. Try to build a good brand image online by taking an active part in the conversations about your products and services. Be an active listener and try to learn what your customers’ needs are. Then, design and deliver your offerings accordingly to delight your targeted clientele. Remember – Web 2.0 marketing is a lucrative opportunity that you can use to engage your community and turn strangers into fans. These fans would act as your online salespeople who would promote your products and services. If all these steps sound like an uphill task, you may consider hiring a social media expert, who would do the job with professional precision and bring you the desired benefits.

All these explain why web marketing 2.0 can help you achieve a lot with proper planning that traditional advertising can’t even think of!