The times, they are a changing…It seems that every day another Web 2.0 site alters its business model to ramp up stagnant or non-existent revenue growth. Just two days ago Ning, the customizable social nNetwork platform, announced that they are rolling out three new paid models after they ended their free ad-supported model a few weeks back. And Facebook, for all their success, has become the poster child for of Web 2.0 businesses, stemming from the mantra: “Aggregate an audience and then figure out a revenue plan”.
While that may work for the likes of Facebook and Twitter due to their sheer scale, it is proving increasingly difficult for other web properties as everyone battles for the same slice of ad dollars. Even Facebook, who currently has more than 400 million users, has alienated and angered many of them by continuing to dish out more and more of their information, so that advertisers can target you more effectively. As internet consumption continues to rise, people on the web are becoming increasingly savvy. Which means that if you promise them a certain user experience up front…be prepared for people to get upset when you alter how they interact with your site, in the name of revenue. Jessi Hempel of Fortune Magazine saw this and predicted the demise of Web 2.0 all the way back in January of 2009.
Web 3.0 will be marked by sites that do the exact opposite: those that create a revenue plan from inception and provide value to their users who are sharing their personal information. Two of the best examples of this are Mint.com and Offermatic.com, which both leverage members” credit card and financial information to provide offers from relevant advertisers. These web properties bank on the fact that consumers will provide advertisers with their personal information if the advertisers can provide them value and relevance in return.
Mint and Offermatic are just two examples of a new breed of web based businesses that have well-thought-out revenue plans and provide their users with exceptional value and relevant offers.
You don’t have to be a new web 3.0 business to provide your customers with value; you just need to be relevant. The common theme here is and has always been relevance! If you provide your customers value but not relevance, then you are only halfway there. If you can provide both value and relevance, that is a winning combination.
The world is changing, the internet is evolving, and to find your place in the new world it’s clear that value and relevance need to be a major part of any marketing strategy. The day that I stop writing about relevance is the day that every single email in my inbox is custom tailored to me. Right now, looks like we have a long way to go…
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