Everywhere I go these days, I hear talk about Web 2.0. What is this exactly? I’ve found it depends upon whose talking.

From my viewpoint Web 2.0 is the next stage in web marketing where websites move from static, two-dimensional brochure sites to interesting, brand-oriented sites. What’s the difference? It’s the understanding of how branding works on the web.

Because so many web agencies today come from the technical side, there is a serious lack of understanding about branding. Creative plays a very different role in a web agency than it does in a traditional advertising agency. I’m not laying any blame here. Good websites require good programming. But the loss of great creativity is at the center of Web 2.0.

YouTube has taken branding away from the website. Why? Because YouTube provides the visual and verbal structure needed for great branding. As David Ogilvy once said, “A brand is the intangible sum of a product’s attributes: its name and price, its history, its reputation, and the way it’s advertised.” For a website to become a branding vehicle, as it should, it must  provide the multi-dimensional format necessary for good creative.

Creativity has been missing from websites since the first ones launched in the early 1990’s. And while websites are managed by marketers, they are owned by sales. And sales departments want their website to generate leads.

So how to generate more leads in a Web 2.0 world? Design your website to speak more directly, relevantly and creatively to the different audiences involved in the purchase cycle.

If you’re planning a website update in 2009, ask yourself the following questions:

1. Do I have a branding strategy clearly laid out? How will the website implement this strategy
2. Does the web firm I’ve selected have experience or an understanding of branding?
3. What tools am I employing to make my site more creative and better communicate?
4. What programs am I using to drive leads to my site?
5. How am I differentiating my site from others, particularly competitors? Am I duplicating their approach or taking a new and interesting direction?

Karla

Posted in Marketing Mentor |

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