As we’ve discussed, dynamic sites are in, and static sites are way, way out. To review, a static website is one that is much like a catalog, while a dynamic site ideally lends itself to much more updating and interaction.

Then, there’s a site that is compatible with the Web 2.0 style of marketing.

Before you start getting upset about yet another way in which you’ll have to overhaul your website let me be the first to tell you that joining the Web 2.0 evolution is not nearly that complicated. First, let’s talk about what Web 2.0 actually is.

Wikipedia defines it as follows:

Web 2.0 is a term often applied to a perceived ongoing transition of the World Wide Web from a collection of websites to a full-fledged computing platform serving web applications to end users. Ultimately Web 2.0 services are expected to replace desktop computing applications for many purposes.

Don’t let this scare you though - it doesn’t mean your site has to have all the fixings of an office productivity suite in order for it to stay relevant. What it does mean, is that your site needs to catch up to the message that comes out of this movement. That message is that the Web isn’t just a place to passively look up things - it’s a place to participate, a place to BE.

Even if you have a site that is strictly corporate in nature, you can use many of the tools used in Web 2.0 Marketing in order to spread the message of your site deeply into niches that previously may have seemed hard to reach.

For example. you can start an RSS feed, a podcast, an internal or external blog, or use trackback and tagging in your online press releases. Doing so will help you reach a more web-savvy, affluent crowd of clients - important if you’re selling a product online, or to a crowd that does its research online, like people in the market for a home. Marketing your site with Web 2.0 methods doesn’t mean you need to change your site around.

It means you need to update your strategy.

What’s a static site? A static site is a web property that doesn’t change. It’s like a catalog or a billboard, it just sits there advertising the company. There was a time when it was appropriate to have a site that basically exiwted to proclaim your dominance over your competitor for being on the web… that time was oh… about 1997.

Today, what you want to have is a dynamic site. Not necessariy just a site that is a super-cool web app or a huge community site with forums and other communication tools, if they are outside the realm of your company. But even if your company doesn’t actually conduct its business online, your site should have the ability to tell someone how to reach people at your company, and offer some level of interactivity with your clients.

Maybe they can look up account information, or perhaps they will be able to see when their next appointment is. You could have video demos of your products, that clients can comment on. Or you could just have an area where you talk about industry news.

Even if it’s just a form to fill out in order to send an email, or customer service buttons that allow your staff to chat with interested parties wh are visitng the site, a little interactivity goes a long way. The more useful your site is, the more visitors will return. The more they return, the more they bond to your brand.

Nina

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