When I talk to folks about Web 2.0 the impression I’m left with is that they know that it’s a necessary area they have to venture into but they don’t know where to start.  Words like Twitter, Facebook , social marketing are being used more and more.  But where to start?

Well first things first, like I mentioned in “An Internet State of Mind,” you need a website or some sort of online presence.  And with Web 2.0 technology you can turn your website into a robust marketing tool.  But in order to create an online marketing strategy you have to know what kind of tools you have at your disposal.

Now I work primarily with WordPress, an open source blog publishing application…Ok, in plain English, it’s a platform or foundation on which you build your website.  It’s the framework of your building.  I like Wordpress because it’s user-friendly for non-techies and it’s widely used.  This is great because there are a ton of plugins and applications that are built to link with WordPress.

Now having said that, there are other popular platforms out there and although the following interactive tools are based on Wordpress, you should be able to find similar ones that are compatible with your platform.  And if you’ve chosen a template that doesn’t allow you much flexibility as far as adding interactive applications, then you may want to consider switching over to something more versatile that will grow as your business grows.

Top Ten Interactive Website Tools

1. Subscribe2 – Notifies an email list when new entries are posted.  Auto responder that creates a drip campaign that keeps you in touch with your customers by giving them valueable information.
2. Share This – Let your visitors share a post/page with others. Supports e-mail and posting to social bookmarking sites.  This is the key to viral marketing!
3. Simple CAPTCHA - “Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart.”  A simple captcha system for comment system to prevent spam.
4. Next GEN Gallery/Slide Show – Lets your visitors view your image gallery in the form of a slide show.
5. Exclude Pages from Navigation - Provides a checkbox on the editing page which you can check to exclude pages from the primary navigation.
6. Google XML Sitemaps – This plugin will generate a sitemaps.org compatible sitemap of your WordPress blog which is supported by Ask.com, Google, MSN Search and YAHOO.
7. All in One SEO Pack- Out-of-the-box SEO for your Wordpress blog
8. FAQ-Tastic – Create and manage your FAQ’s
9. Wp-Contact form - An easily configured contact form
10. Forum - Allows your readers to create their own profile on your site and interact with one another through a forum venue

Wow!  So I could go on and on and even then by tomorrow someone will have created a new application that can be integrated into your site.  But not to slight anyone here’s some other tools put in your internet arsenal:

Tools that link you to Twitter, Digg and other social network sites.  Plugins that dispaly Recent Comments, Archives, Categories, Event Calendar and Polls.  Create Registration Forms, follow Google Analytics, employ a Shopping Cart, use Free Chat, allow Members Only on your site.

So many tools, so little time!  Hope this gets your creative juices flowing!  Keep thinking about all the fun ways you can entertain and inform your customers!  And If I didn’t mention any of your favorites (and I’m sure I have)…sorry in advance.  But feel free to add them to the list!

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