Author: Mike Moran
Publisher: IBM Press
Year Published: 2007
Rating: 
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Web 2.0 marketing can be a daunting endeavor to undertake for virtually everyone but those on the bleeding edge of technology. It seems every day there’s a new technology that hits the market or a new social network opens its doors or the trends shift from blogging to audio/podcasting to video. With all those new changes, it’s easy to become obsessed with doing it right the first time, overwhelmed with all the new choices each day, and frustrated that you can’t keep up.
For those who feel they will never “get” marketing in the Web 2.0 world, Mike Moran wrote Do It Wrong Quickly. As the title suggests, Moran is a big proponent of implementing something, testing it and making improvements. Or as he says to “do it wrong quickly… then fix it, just as quickly.” Here are some key takeaways:
- Marketing must become personal and conversation driven. With so many things (ads, billboards, tv, radio, websites, games, etc) competing for your prospect’s attention, it’s much harder to get them to pay attention to you. Traditional advertising is working less because it’s based on the principle that you can interrupt your prospect and they’ll pay attention to you. Unfortunately, that mentality no longer works. People go to the kitchen when commercials come on – or if they have tivo, they just fast forward. Or perhaps they surf the web or sort through their mail or pick up a book. In other words, they have many options available and have control over which they choose. Trying to interrupt what they’re doing and get them to pay attention won’t work anymore. Instead, you must find ways to have conversations with them. They’re already talking about their interests, passions and problems. It’s up to you to join in. What would make you someone they want to talk to? How can you build an ongoing relationship with them?
- Marketing is as much about listening as it is educating. It’s no longer enough to tell prospects what you want them to know. They have their own agendas and with the web, they have a platform to tell the world what they think. You can choose to be a part of that world through offering great content, participating in blogs and forum discussions, and listening to what customers say about you – or ignore it at your company’s peril.
- Direct marketing rules the web. With the web comes accountability. Everything you do can be tested and measured, from how many clicks your Google ads get to how many people click on a particular page of your website. (Not sure what direct marketing is – read my article called What is Direct Response Advertising?)
- Design your site with your visitors’ goals in mind. User experience is everything. Once someone clicks onto your site, you have seconds to capture their attention. Everything on your site must then help your visitor find the information he or she is looking for. If your navigation is confusing or you have annoying audio or popups or if some of your links don’t work, you can easily lose your prospect’s trust. They won’t take the time to figure out how your site works when a competitor’s site is just a click away.
- Measure everything. For your web marketing campaigns to succeed, you must have specific goals that you can test. You must define what actions you want customers to take (joining your newsletter, subscribing to your RSS feed, making a product purchase, downloading a white paper, filling out your contact form, etc) and measure the frequency in which they take those actions. Once you have a benchmark for what works, try to improve it by changing the headlines and subheaders, your page’s copy, pictures and graphics, and so forth to improve how frequently visitors take a desired action.
I have to admit, when I first picked up this 375+ page book, I figured I’d skim a few chapters and get the gist. Several hours later, I found myself completely immersed. Do It Wrong Quickly is a fantastic “big picture” overview of how any business – big or small – can take advantage of the web. Moran writes in a witty, conversational tone that draws you in. He’s also a raving fan of Seth Godin, so if you’ve read any of Seth’s books (all of which I highly recommend) you’ll see influences throughout.
Moran even addresses the “this won’t work for me” and the “this won’t work where I work” crowds by addressing common demotivators that might be holding you back and by providing examples of different personality types and how you might get them to adapt to the Web 2.0 world. His descriptions of the naysayer are hysterical – yet I found myself nodding in agreement, having known someone who fell into most of his personality types. He even provides tips for getting your boss on board.
In each chapter, Moran offers tip boxes that anticipate some of the concerns you might have while reading the chapter. There are also brief summaries at the end of each chapter and an extensive 18 page glossary at the back of the book.
Overall, I highly recommend this book to anyone who feels overwhelmed with the idea of marketing their business on the web. And even if you think you have a pretty good grasp on things, I bet you’ll still pick up a few handy tips.
On an additional note, Mike Moran is also the author of one of the best books on search engine marketing out there, Search Engine Marketing, Inc., which I also highly recommend and one day will probably write a full review of.
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