Controversial or not, Web 2.0 has given women a virtual edge. Do know how new
media marketing can help your business? If not, chances are, your competitor
does. So how can you take advantage of all the ways Web 2.0 helps attract more
clients, raving fans and repeat buyers? Check out the top 10 reasons new media
marketing is a woman's world.
1. New media marketing is a natural fit for women. Networking, sharing
resources and helping our community are all activities women have been doing for
ages. The only difference is we now reward one another for doing what we do
best--with business loyalty. Women tend to look at their buying decisions as a
way to reward the "better person" who deserves to be in business. The moment a
woman feels she's just another number to a person who just wants to make a sale,
she'll use her power online by clicking away or writing a negative review.
2. Selling requires extraordinary people skills. Online sales go far
beyond simply having a good headline, sales letter and product. Studies have
proved we buy from people we like. Women who are successful at building rapport
online will be rewarded accordingly.
3. The good ol' boys have lost their clout. Men who merely stick with
the good ol' boys network will be promptly passed over by the businesswoman who
goes out and interacts with her customers, gives them what they're looking for
and gets them involved with her company. And if you're going to those kinds of
lengths for your customers, you'd expect the same kind of treatment from your
suppliers.
4. Web 2.0 allows women to get the last word. Even shy girls get to
contribute to the conversation and have their voice heard without being
overpowered. Blogs, podcasts, social networks and vlogs all let you contribute
to the marketing conversation.
5. Women naturally want to connect with people in a friendly, intimate
way. If you market through your connections, you have a strategic advantage
in the Web 2.0 world. If you are marketing to women and understand the
differences between how men and women operate, you'll be able to quickly adopt
new-media marketing as your key differentiating strategy when getting the word
out about your businesses. A great resource on this subject is
Marketing to Women: How to Understand, Reach and Increase Your Share of the
World's Largest Market Segment by Martha Barletta.
6. Women have a preference for online social networks. Social
networking sites like MySpace, Ryze and eCademy are growing daily in popularity
with women over 40. And these sites are bringing participating businesswomen
raving fans and repeat buyers for their products and services.
7. Moms can work from home and get more done. No longer are
work-at-home moms at a disadvantage when expanding their networking circles. You
could be a virtual hermit and have more friends and clients than anyone sitting
in a brick-and-mortar store, waiting for the next person to walk in. You can
easily identify prospects who'd love your product or service simply by checking
out their online profile, networks they belong to and blogs they actively
participate in. Then you can reach them directly on social networks.
8. Women's needs are being met in the virtual workplace like never before.
Women value feeling connected to others, and Web 2.0 allows them to fulfill this
need and make more money at the same time. Blogs let you connect with the author
through comments; podcasts let you to listen to the speaker's voice; vlogs let
you see the person you're evaluating. And all these elements help you evaluate
whether to do business with a person.
9. You're in total control of the sales transaction. Previously, you
had to walk into an office for a meeting to decide whether you'd be doing
business with a firm. If you didn't like where the conversation was going, you
were forced to listen to the rest of the sales pitch before you were able to
walk out. Now, you can do enough research online to decide for yourself if you'd
like to set up a meeting--without ever introducing yourself unless you want to.
10. Women are statistically better sales professionals. The final
reason women have a major advantage over male competitors online may be a bit
controversial. Regardless, it doesn't make it any less true. My Rutgers
University women's studies professor would have my head for revealing this
secret: Not only will new media marketing help you attract more women buyers,
you'll also attract more men buyers as well.
Men are highly visual. Where women desire conversations to connect with
people, Steve Santagati, author of The Manual, explains men make connections
after seeing someone. Regardless of your looks (though you could potentially
boost your sales after a mini makeover), the more men can see you, the more
they'll connect with you and buy from you. You can disagree, argue or protest
this simple fact. You can whine about how sexist it may seem and comment about
it on this post, but ignore it at your peril.
After all, advertising agencies have been using women's natural sex appeal to
sell for decades. And the best thing about Web 2.0 is you can control how your
prospects and clients see you. With artistic effects on all video and photo
editing software, everyone can look good--regardless of the minor flaws we try
to hide when meeting people face-to-face.
I'd love to hear what you think about this. Do you agree? Disagree? Are you
enraged? Or are you relieved someone's finally exposing the truth? Are we now
living in a woman's world?