Marketing online isn’t as easy as it used to be. Back in the day, all we had to do was write some slick ad copy and hand it over to the Webmaster to be published online. If these pages somehow made their way onto one of the various search engines, it was a pleasant bonus. Today, copy is called content, Webmasters are called engineers, and the goal is making the first page of Google, which is trading at nearly $700 per share. It’s a great time to be in the business, but we are all wondering where the art of marketing is headed. One thing is certain: content and the manner in which people interact with content are changing. Given the season, we’ll attempt to define the evolving dos and don’ts of Web marketing with a little holiday twist.

Don’t: Be a scrooge with your content.

Do: Make your content sharable. People are social. Even the lone, anonymous researcher is e-mailing links to peers and asking for feedback. Because people are sharing, we need to enable our visitors to interact with our content by giving them the ability to bookmark it, tag it, comment on it, and spread it. Content providers need to design for communities, and there are a number of techniques you can employ so that your content can get a social life of its own. I'm not talking about littering the footer of your corporate blog with links and buttons to digg, reddit, and outside.in. Although those are indeed good services, I'm referring to the use of permalinks and meaningful URLs so that these services perform better. Focus on the structure and design considerations that the engineers use when building out Websites.

Don’t: Let your portions get out of control.

Do: Stay slim with microchunks. A client of ours recently asked us to produce and film some interviews for the Web. As the interviews were over an hour long, we decided to edit the video down into four videos and give them unique titles. While we spent more time in post production than we did filming the actual interviews, the videos were easier to view, comment on, and share since they had features like embed code and permalinks. As a result, the edited videos were in alignment with the behaviors of the community that would view them. To illustrate my point, have you ever had a friend get 3/4 of the way through making a point and wrap up by saying "to make a long story short" and the final point could have really stood on its own the entire time? Microchunking is just that – content that can stand on its own. Microchunking is the trimming down of content to the point where it is still usable (even more so), easy to understand, and relevant without losing context. The more time you spend optimizing content for communities with techniques like microchunking, the more likely it is to spread throughout the community that will use it.

Don’t: Be afraid of “re-gifting.”

Do: Use permalinks, for the gift that keeps on giving. Permalinks uniquely identify the content items on your Web site so that users can easily e-mail, bookmark, and pass the address of your content around. Because they typically contain keywords and categories (or at least they should), the search engines pick them up easily. Permalinks and microchunks are an awesome combination for spreading content on the Web.

Don’t: Forget to catch up with old friends.

Do: Keep people in the loop by making your content subscribe-able. With so many different content options on the Web, there is no way you can expect your audience to drop by every time you have something new to show them. Empower your users to consume your new content at the time of their choosing by offering your content as an RSS feed. Even if you don’t have regularly updated content, it’s probably a good idea to have one on your careers section. That way you’re connecting with potential employees every time you have an opening, not just when they’re looking.

Don’t: Miss the boat on this year’s hot gadget.

Do: Leverage the vast potential of a cool widget. One thing that is exciting marketers is the widget. Think of today's Web as a platform for distributing content beyond your Website and onto the Websites of your customers, where feeds, embed codes, and APIs enable Website owners to distribute their content to other Web pages using widgets. Once you start publishing your content using widgets, you can penetrate trusted networks where it is shared among friends in online communities. Widgets aren't just limited to social networking sites or personal start pages. You can embed them into your company Website and share bookmarks using del.icio.us, or chronicle company events with Flickr, a popular Website for sharing pictures. Another benefit of using widgets is that the best content from your Website can be in two places at once.
 

• Is Your E-Mail System Broken?
• Web 2.0 - Web 3.0 - The "Social Web"