Whereas regular marketing was a process of message generation and delivered by a one-way process (marketer to customer), Web 2.0 marketing is controlled by peer-to-peer communication.

The rise of social media powered by Web 2.0 is as dramatic a change for marketing as the telephone was for voice communications, and is described by Wikipedia as "the online tools and platforms that people use to share opinions, insights, experiences, and perspectives with each other."

In an era where customers can openly and freely discuss your products and services, and post compliments and complaints that can be discovered by thousands of Internet users - marketers need to not only be aware of, but be involved in, social marketing, as well.

Peers trust these reviews - social proof is extremely powerful, and though you cannot control others' messages, you can influence the direction of the conversation by being involved.

Here are some ways for internet marketers to start embracing the social marketing phenomenon.

Learn about it

Know the different platforms that are available, and see how each is being used to great effect. Research those that are a good fit for your niche.

Include it in your plan

While Web 2.0 marketing opportunities can pop up without any involvement from you, it is useful to think strategically about committing your online marketing resources. Keep an eye out for natural opportunities for social marketing.

Communicate

Social media sites rely on two (or many) way communication and there are many ways of joining in. Add tools like blogs, wikis, tags, surveys and quizzes, videos and audios to your websites - and enable comments on blogs.

Don't expect to site back and wait for visitors to your site. You need to participate in conversations in others' blogs, in forums, on Twitter etc.

Good content travels

Make valuable and interesting posts that readers will just have to bookmark, and share - it's a type of viral marketing. Interesting and original content gets forwarded rapidly - just like a virus. Fresh content is gobbled up quickly. Encourage visitors to bookmark and tag your content - do it by including bookmark buttons clearly on your site and posts.

Sight and Sound

Video sharing sites like YouTube are too big a marketing opportunity to overlook, so go out of your way to create short videos and post them to YouTube and other video-sharing sites. The search engines will reward you with good rankings, and your message will be seen by a potential audience of millions. As well, how-to's, interviews, and inspirational stories can be recorded as podcasts. Set up newsfeeds for releases of audio and video content so your audience can opt in and be notified of new releases

By engaging your audience, social media marketing gives you the opportunity to turn strangers into followers and followers into customers. These followers will become your online sales reps. They will promote your products and services for as long as you deliver value.

The best way to get top social media exposure is providing original and interesting content that readers will just have to share with their peers.