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Marketing 2.0: A Basic Framework

by Greg Cangialosi on May 26, 2007

Below, are some of my thoughts around what I would classify as a “basic” marketing 2.0 framework. I am writing on this topic as I begin to think through the presentation I will be giving in July at the edu Web Conference.

In a very dynamic and ever changing landscape of web 2.0 and social media, marketers are continually faced with new challenges on how to make sense of, and embrace emerging online mediums that expose them to a world of unmoderated, decentralized conversation, taking place within a rich media playing field – syndicated text, audio, and video everywhere.

There are some basic tools that organizations must deploy in order to participate in this complex online social universe. Its becoming increasingly important for marketers to be able to develop and maintain consistent ways of participating in and measuring the success of their online engagement efforts. The ROI on social media will be an important metric for organizations to be focused on as we move forward in this evolving media landscape.

How does an organization measure its ROE or Return on Engagement? What are the key elements that an organization needs to be included in this new social media landscape? What follows is what I believe is a basic framework for participating in a world of Marketing 2.0, or, in other words, marketing in a Web 2.0 world. You will pick up on a common theme as you move through this framework, and that is one of “become a publisher of information.” None of this is rocket science, its pure practicality. We live in an expanding world of content. And yes, content IS king, it was said long ago. Now the mindshare of the masses becomes a content game, down to the marketing level.

Here are some of the basic components and tactics you need to succeed:

A Blog

I don’t really want to spend a lot of time on this one, because if your reading this post, you probably a.) already have a blog and have most likely been writing it for a while, maybe even years, and or b.) you recently launched one or are at least savvy enough to know you need one and are actively working on getting it live.

Simply put, a blog acts as your base. It is your foundation of words, opinions and expressions. Its where you express your points of view, your opinions, your news and information. Its a place where you can revert back to, to clarify your position, stake your claim, and make your mark as a person or an organization. Blogs are the newspapers, the media, the dialogue of the future. To not blog, is to not speak, nuff said.

Email Marketing

Oh yeah, you KNOW I am biased on this one :-) but I don’t have to speak to why email should be a spoke on your marketing 2.0 wheel now do I? Email is the driver, the dominant application of all online mediums. Aside from being an incredible channel for developing loyalty and retention with your audience, the medium also delivers one of the highest ROI’s today for marketers. Email also drives the reach of your message, extending it, and spreading it virally through personal networks and communities. Send out a newsletter, tips, promotions, cross / up sell, re-publish blog posts, link to media, tell your story….build a subscriber base and publish targeted, relevant content.

RSS Feeds

If you are already blogging (or when you begin), you will most likely have an RSS feed associated with your blog. Make this feed as easy as possible to subscribe to for your readers. You may also consider publishing multiple feeds depending on your organization or what kind of content you are publishing. For example, your blog feed, your podcast feed, topical feeds, etc.. Publishing feeds gets your message out via a rapidly emerging channel. Consumers of media are customizing their home / start pages with feeds of interest, loading up their aggregators with subscriptions, and also subscribing to RSS feeds via email as well (another important feature to have). I have a pretty good feeling that an individual’s OPML file will be an important asset as we move forward in this landscape.

Syndicated & Optimized Press Releases:

In short, spread your key news via at least one of these services (PR Web, PR Newswire, MarketWire). The Google juice alone is worth every penny. Get your news, and your name out almost instantly via these syndication services. This is a no-brainer. Yes, it can be costly but for as little as a few hundred dollars to have your news pushed out globally, generating tons of inbound links to your web properties, is really worth the time and effort. I have done it many times and it simply works. Check out the pick up around the announcement of our acquisition of RSSFWD. We used MarketWire’s service for this release.

Produce Audio and Video Content

I am not talking CNN style, spend a $100k on a commercial / promotional piece. Naturally, I am talking about producing podcasts and online video content. Produce something. Come up with a show with a theme that relates to your area of expertise, or your industry. Produce an audio show at the very least, the barriers to entry / production are just too low now to even be debating this internally. Podcast your organizations message, period. If you can add the visual element to this, ie. video then by all means do it, just think it through and make it compelling, unique, relevant and interesting.

We live in a world of online rich media, ever growing and expanding. Broadband adoption has blown this door wide open, giving organizations of every size the ability to become their own media outlet. Broadcast your message in text, audio and video. Again, the barrier to entry is just too low to put up a fight…

Start Speaking and Showing Your Face

Lets get “un-digital” for a moment and talk about humanity and being a real person. We do live in a physical world, and we can’t ever take the human experience away. The personal connection is more powerful than any other medium. In terms of marketing, I believe this is critical. Get out in the world, come up with an idea or a topic to speak on, volunteer to talk to groups, be a guest speaker on a particular topic, be on a panel, go to networking events, etc. In short, show your face and speak your mind. Make yourself the expert in your field and meet and greet as many people as you can. Extend your brand by putting a face and a personality to a name.

As mentioned above, this is only part of a framework. I certainly have not covered everything, and I have not covered or gone into any depth on tactical implementation or measurement. That said, I believe the elements I have listed above are key “spokes” on the marketing wheel of the future, which is now :-)

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{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }

Douglas Karr May 26, 2007 at 6:00 pm

When looking at the Marketing and Advertising Agencies of the past, most of them did (and still do) focus on the medium. If you need Print – use an Agency specializing it. Agencies were diced up by their specialty.

I like the view of Marketing 2.0 and with it comes Integrated Marketing Strategies. The ability to leverage each medium to produce the most impact between the customer and the company. Of course, agencies are struggling to catch up…. but there are a few good ones out here!

Great post!

Reply

Greg May 26, 2007 at 6:31 pm

Douglas -

Thanks for commenting. No doubt about it, there is an integrated approach here. The social media elements I mention above are key to removing the era of the faceless company.

The trick as all of this develops is measurement and being able to develop and define metrics around engagement, and how they back into revenue :-)

Thanks for commenting!

- Greg

Reply

Joan Stewart, The Publicity Hound May 27, 2007 at 12:15 pm

Greg, your comments about press releases are right on the mark, particularly your recommendation to use paid services.

Many people think they can “get by” with the gazillion press release distribution services out there. But the dirty little secret of these “distribution” services is that they really don’t distribute anything.

They simply park your release at their website, and there’s no guarantee it will become part of the Google or Yahoo news feeds. Most of them don’t have telephone support. So if you post a release to their site and learn 15 minuts later you’ve made a big error, you’re often stuck.

Also, because I’m a publicity expert, I get more questions on press releases than on any other topic. So I am offering a free email course called “89 Ways to Write Powerful Press Releases.”

I explain why we should no longer be writing press releases only for the press, but for the spiders, and for buyers who can find the releases online, click through to our websites and enter our sales funnel, even if journalists don’t think our release is worthy of attention.

The course includes several terrific press release samples from authors and publishers, “before” and “after” makeovers, an entire week devoted to SEO, and a list of questions people must ask themeselves before they even start writing.

Reply

Greg May 27, 2007 at 3:28 pm

Hey Joan –

Thanks for stopping by the blog. I would love to learn more about the “89 ways to write powerful press releases” :-) keep me posted.

One thing is for sure the social media optimized press release, is the press release of the future.

Best,

- Greg

Reply

LaSandra Brill May 31, 2007 at 10:33 pm

Great summary of this evolving trend.

I summarize Marketing 2.0 as the shift from interruptive and transactional marketing to interactive and integrated marketing. You may be interested in reading this post I recently wrote: The Marketing 2.0 Revolution.

Good luck on your presentation. I look forward to reading about the highlights of the event!

~ LaSandra

Reply

Greg May 31, 2007 at 11:32 pm

LaSandra –

Thanks for stopping by! Interactivity / Engagement are definitely the wave of the future in terms of defining this shift. I have heard about the development of new metrics like a WOM (word of mouth) unit, and a CPI (Cost Per Influencer) being implemented. Its a brave new world out there. Exciting times to see how things will develop.

All the best!

- Greg

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SanalTüketici May 16, 2010 at 12:52 am

It's very good news for the developer community. I think you are in the right side now, and Netvibes platform would become the standard.

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