WSJ - “The Secrets of Marketing in a Web 2.0 World”

Missed this when it was first published a month ago, but it seems relevant today nonetheless. The Wall Street Journal recently interviewed 30 executives from different companies to get an overview of how organizations are engaging in social media. They provide pointed observations, and get it right across the board. The main points:

1. Don’t just talk at consumers — work with them throughout the marketing process.
2. Give consumers a reason to participate.
3. Listen to — and join — the conversation outside your site.
4. Resist the temptation to sell, sell, sell.
5. Don’t control, let it go.
6. Find a ‘marketing technopologist.’
7. Embrace experimentation.

Couldn’t say it better ourselves.

The first four are completely intertwined, and speak to a larger point about socializing that we try to hammer home for our clients every chance we get. Social media is too often looked at from a standpoint of how you can use it. In truth, we need to thinking about what we can provide with it. What can we provide our existing fans/customers in order to foster a greater user experience and keep them engaged in the process? What can we provide to potential fans/customers to shine a light on what’s going on right here at home?

The last point is also a fantastic one, and always seems to be the most difficult to grab on to. In a world moving so fast, and with so much information at our fingertips, waiting to see what the other guy is doing right is helpful. But thinking about what we can do that he hasn’t thought of yet is the true catalyst to success.

The complete WSJ article is available here .