If Web 1.0 was all about chatrooms, tacky banner exchanges and cute emoticons, Web 2.0 is all about social networking, interactivity and user-generated content. So which sites are the icons of Web 2.0? Well, social networking websites (FaceBook, MySpace, Bebo, etc.), social bookmarking sites (Digg, Del.icio.us, etc.) and, of course, the grand daddy of user-provided information, Wikipedia, are a few examples of the new icons of the Web 2.0 universe.

Internet marketers look upon any Web 2.0 site as a source of solid traffic. They open up their own pages on Web 2.0 sites and interact with the members, whip up frenzy and drive people to their own websites. The result is terrific: more traffic, more backlinks, and more word-of-mouth publicity - and this one comes for free - ahh, what more can an Internet marketer want?

But hang on a minute! Is this as easy as it seems?

Nope, it ain't. Web 2.0 marketing requires tremendous amount of time and effort, and yet you can't always figure out for sure whether you will get casual visitors (who just hang around and leave) or hardcore shoppers who're willing to swipe their cards. Here then are some fundamental guidelines for making your Web 2.0 marketing campaign successful:

1. Your website must look chic, sport quality content that is informative as well as entertaining, and the copy must be written by an expert.

2. People hang around social networking websites to kill time, not to buy stuff. So, if you have to divert them to your websites you must use killer tools (entertaining videos, games, audios, commentary, etc.) that will hook them up instantly. You cannot hoist a sales pitch on a Web 2.0 site! You have to be innovative and plant some cool entertaining content if you want to attract them to your website.

3. Approach your Web 2.0 marketing campaign like your life depends on it. If you give it a half-hearted effort, put out boring, non-informative content and then sit back and wit to see what happens. Trust me, nothing will happen. Further, you will lose credibility because bad press spreads faster than viruses on the Net.

4. Web 2.0 websites are designed for you to interact with people. It is not there for you to sell. You must be expert, able to answer questions and put up posts that both entertain and inform. You are building rapport, not making sales. Any other thought will stop you dead in the water.

5. You cannot expect Web 2.0 marketing to draw traffic to your website the way PPC advertisements or SEO (Search Engine Optimization) tactics do. You have to be ready for less.

6. You should get into Web 2.0 marketing if and only if your website is generating good sales. If your sales are mediocre or you have just set up a website, then this is not the time to go for Web 2.0 marketing.

These cover just a few of the basics of Web 2.0 marketing. Where ever you start with marketing in this new virtual world, will be a learning curve and stepping stone to more success. The sooner you start, the quicker you'll have results. Good luck in your pursuits.