With so many options and limited time… here are 5 easy rules to keep your web 2.0 strategies on track!

1.0 All web 2.0 strategies are a two way street!

The whole point of web 2.0 is that the interactive communication is meant to be two ways. Don’t use it as a 1 way communication tool! Don’t just shout out “We got a great review” or “We have a special deal,” you need to try to phrase the message to encourage two-way communication.

2.0 Speak in the voice of the medium you are using!

You can’t treat this like blurb copy in your brochure or you will be ignored. You have to look at each web 2.0 tool and follow its mediums structure.

3.0 You must be willing to adopt a strategy and commit to it. You can’t just do it as a one time campaign.

Social media guru Joe Jaffe says, “Social media is a commitment, not a campaign.” There is a lot of truth to this… executing social media doesn’t require a ton of capital investment but it requires a long term time commitment to be successful. Most people when they adopt one the these strategies are in a dabbling phase.. they treat it like a new plant. They water it, feed it and when it doesn’t immediately spout flowers they ignore it and it dies. If you can’t post to your twitter or Facebook account more than 4 times a week, you are telling the people that follow you they are unimportant. What if someone has sent you a question, what if someone posted they saw the show last night and you lied and it was rubbish. You wouldn’t wait 3 weeks to answer and email you can’t wait 3 days to answer a post.

4.0 You probably do it all, pick the web 2.0 environment that is sustainable for you!

In the late Summer of 2007 when asked about the unethical behavior on Wall Street Warren Buffett said the words “Because everyone else is doing it” were the five most dangerous words in the english language. Turns out he was right about Wall Street and that same dangers apply to Web 2.0. Every organization is different what you are able to do depends on a lot of factors and you need to make sure that web 2.0 strategies are sustainable for your organization and make sense in your market.

5.0 Don’t forget, your website is your home base. All paths lead to your doorstep.

In the current era of social media you need to remember you can’t just have a social media strategy that lives within that environment. It seems like a simple point but you have to drive that traffic back to your website. Remember one of the key reasons to why you are embracing social media, to sell tickets, thus if your not driving them towards a sale you’ve lost the plot.

Wrapping up….If you are lost, don’t be afraid to hire a professional online marketing specialist or consult with others to help you get set up and keep you on the right track. There are a lot of firms that can help, national, local and other people in your market that are doing it successfully. The exciting thing about web 2.0 is the collaborative element of it. Many of the people working in this field share that excitement and don’t just want to help but are excited to do so!