Web 2.0 technologies are a disruptive force that’s changing the way that messages about products and brands are delivered and received. So what is social media and why do you need it?

Wikipedia defines social media as “the online tools and platforms people use to share opinions, insights, experiences, and perspectives with each other.” Studies by Forrester, Intelliseek, and Compete indicate that over more than 50 percent of consumers are turning to their peers and the information that they’re creating online to form their opinions. Without a doubt, the rise of social media, powered by Web 2.0, has become a dramatic change for marketing and a change you need to embrace.

Until now, we viewed Internet marketing as just another marketing channel, where, like traditional methods (print, radio, and TV), we controlled one-way messages directed at the consumer. Web 2.0, better viewed as a marketing “engine” rather than a marketing “channel,” is profoundly different because you don’t control the message — everyone can create and shape the message. Viral (word-of-mouth) in nature, Web 2.0 allows you to energize and add power to your message and pass it on to hundreds of contacts around the world in a fraction of a second!

If you’re in charge of marketing for your company or simply trying to improve communications between your company and your customers, the concept of allowing online discussions about your company’s products and services probably keeps you up at night as you ponder how to implement social media and still protect your company’s brand. The good news is the benefits outweigh your reservations. While you can’t control the message, you can improve the conversation about your brand and by actively listening you can learn what your customers care about and get smarter about designing and delivering services that your audience wants!

So where do you start? First and foremost, it is critical that your staff participate in and understand social media by learning about it first hand. Fundamentally, marketing in a Web 2.0 world requires us to think in both new and old ways at the same time. YouTube, del.icio.us, Flickr, digg, MySpace, and Technorati are examples of new engines you need to understand in order to effectively use them to reach your markets. Once you understand the vehicle you can use these easy and inexpensive strategies to kick-start your thinking about marketing in a Web 2.0 world:

1. Create a Web 2.0 marketing plan. Tap into the creativity of your staff and users to create a strategic social media marketing plan. Look at your marketing, customer service, and website for opportunities and think strategically about where and how you’re going to commit your marketing resources online. Try a photo captioner service where they (or you) can submit local photos, add captions, and then share links or send the new photo as a postcard to their friends. Flickr (mentioned above) or Photobucket are great sites for this. Invite your passionate customers users to create promotional videos about your company then post them online everywhere. We’ve seen some of our boat dealers do this quite effectively when they host “Customer Rendezvous” and other boat outings.

2. Participate! Join the conversation. Social media applications are two-way. Create a MySpace or Facebook profile and offer content and services that attract links, contacts, and friends. We created a DockMaster Facebook page with links back to www.dockmaster.com. Enable comments on blogs and allow users to contribute or add social tools and services such as Weblogs, wikis, tagging, video blogs, etc., to your web site. When you have social media in place, instead of waiting for your audience to come to you discover where your target audiences hang out online and join them, initiating conversations about your company’s products and services and brand.

3. Be remarkable. Have something interesting to offer your viewers that they can use, bookmark, and share on – or offline. Social media is a form of viral marketing. Interesting ideas and content get passed along rapidly. Make sure that adding fresh content is a priority whether it’s new products, blog articles, or a background piece on an upcoming city or organization event.

4. Help your company content travel. Encourage visitors to bookmark and tag your content with a click of a button by posting bookmark buttons on your site. Post your content on sites like Flickr and YouTube where it’s easy for users to find and share it. We posted six short DockMaster demonstrations on YouTube with links back to www.dockmaster.com. Syndicate everything you can that your audience will find useful. Slice and dice your content for dozens of specialized audiences. Spread the word about what your company has. Make newsfeeds for new materials and post them to your website. Be sure to set up newsfeeds for releases of audio and video content so your audience can opt in and be notified of new releases.

5. Monitor engagement and learn as you go. Evaluating social media marketing is different than just counting Web site usage or circulation numbers. You want to measure how well you’re doing at engaging the public and measure both the amount and the intensity of the engagement. Here are some examples of what you need to monitor: How many blog readers do you have? How many comments are posted by how many different visitors? How many people mention your company on their blogs, and how often? Are search engine results predominantly positive or negative? Is your content bookmarked in social bookmarking sites? How many friends and contacts do you have on your profile in social networking sites? How many comments are you receiving? How many visitors contribute content to your site (videos, photos, documents,)?

Marketing this way is fun and creative, and when it really works it can create a big bang. Social media marketing offers you the opportunity to engage your community in new ways and to turn strangers into fans. Fans are your online salespeople who promote your company and its services. If your customers and fans love you and your products and services, they’ll spread the word.