One way to think about Web 2.0 is to think of it like a focus group or a think tank. What you're doing is creating the space for ideas to be shared, and you are seeing what happens next.

Some people think that these tools are something they can control, but this is only a part of the story. Instead, what works better is to utilize the tools, and to find ways to get others to be engaged too.

You can control the way that people engage, but you can't control what they're going to say – and that's the exciting part. You never know what you will learn when you start interacting with others in the world, especially when they're not people you ever meet in real life.

To begin to utilize Web 2.0, you need to take a few concrete steps.

Use the Tools

If you're not already a part of the Web 2.0 movement, then it's time to get involved. Even before you start using tools for business purposes, it can help to use tools to interact with people you already know.

When you begin to use tools, you see how they work, how you can make them work better, and how they might limit you in the goals that you have in mind.

What you have to learn at this point is how to engage with others. There are a few ways in which to do this:

• Sign up for social media
• Leave comments
• Create a blog

While we will go into more detail about these processes later on in the article, these are the best ways to dip your proverbial toe in the Web 2.0 water.

You will begin to see what happens when someone comments, and what happens when you start to showcase your ideas online. This experience will help to inform the choices you make as you create more interactive experiences in your online world.

Even if you don't have a business purpose to your Web 2.0 focus, getting involved with others online is a great way to find out more about the world around you.

• Ask questions
• Give advice
• Follow up
• Share your opinions

All of these actions help to start dialogues that can inform everyone. Even those who don't engage, but choose to read the posts without a response, will be getting something from the process.

Incorporate the Tools

Once you have a basic grasp of the tools that are available for you to use, it's time to start setting up your own places online.

Some ways to do this include:

• Create a business blog
• Start a business Twitter account
• Create and use a Facebook page account

Though it's easier, at first, to look for ways to enter into the conversations already happening online, it's even more exciting to begin the conversations yourself.

This might look like starting a business blog in which you talk about who you are and what your business is. Each week, you might post a new blog entry, talking about something related to your chosen market.

As you begin to have comments on your posts, or people share your posts with others, then you can begin to interact with those who comment.

You also can post these articles on your social media sites and encourage others to do the same. This can create a snowball effect in which you build enough followers of your blog that they begin to share it with their friends, who share it with their friends, and so on.

Think about how a YouTube video goes viral; Web 2.0 can work in the same way when you begin to set up accounts that encourage conversations and engagement.

You can begin by:

• Researching available tools – Look to see what Web 2.0 tools appeal to you and which are in line with your technical skills.
• Looking at what your market already uses – Find out what others in your market area use to engage with customers. When you do this, you will see what customers are expecting, which will help you stay ahead of your competition.
• Trying out the tool – Set aside some time to utilize the tool that you are considering. This will allow you to better understand whether this is a good fit for you and for your technical abilities, as well as for your own interests. If you don't like a tool, then you're not going to use it, or you will not be as engaged as expected.
• Scheduling time to use the tool each day – Once you have the tools you want to use, then it's a good plan to set aside time when you engage in the use of the tool. This way, you will have the time you need, and others who are conversing with you will know when to expect responses and conversation.
• Evaluating whether you have benefited from the process – After you have used some Web 2.0 tools for a while, it's a good practice to see how these tools have benefited you. If they have created more growth or more enjoyment for you, then keep doing what you're doing.

A step-by-step plan is a good way to make sure you're not overburdening yourself, especially if the idea of online engagement is new for you and for your business.

After you have created a Web 2.0 strategy, you want to make sure you are keeping the conversation going. Just setting up your new sites and blogs is a good starting point, but you also need to actively ask for involvement.

This might happen in a few different ways:

• Ask for comments
• Encourage others to post
• Praise those who have engaged
• Answer questions
• Create real time discussions

What you will notice about Web 2.0 is that it works better for your personal and professional goals when you are an active part of the process. If you're not getting involved, then you're not making the most of this new wave of online use.

If you don't have time to use the tools for yourself, then you can reach out to those who are specifically paid to handle these services for others. They will post things that are related to your goals, but you will still want to be the person that is answering the questions and keeping the conversation going.

The more you are actively involved, the more others will be too.

In the beginning, they were online diaries in some ways, with bloggers sharing details of their lives before tools like Facebook emerged. With these simple to set up tools, people could have their own website address, as well as their own place to store their ideas and thoughts.

Today, the personal touch of blogs is helping businesses become less focused on the "sell," and more on developing relationships in their market. This switch to dialogue has allowed businesses to become more successful and more relatable.

What a Blog Is

Just like so many other tools online, the definition of a blog has been interpreted differently, depending on the goals of the blogger. For some, a blog is where you might share your internal thoughts, while others might use this as a marketing tool.

But before we dive into the "why," let's talk about what a blog is, and what it does.

• Posts writing – You can write something into the blogging platform and then post it for others to read, just as you would in a typical website.
• Posts media – Today, you can also add in links to websites, photos, videos, etc. You can create a multimedia experience on a blog, helping to support text, or to replace it completely.
• Shares updates – With RSS and mailing lists, you can share the updates to the blog easily with your audience. Once the relationship to your reader has been established through the blog, they may want to sign up to know immediately when you have something new to say.
• Allowed for social media sharing – Now many blogging platforms include ways to add in social media sharing buttons (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc.) This allows people who like your blog entry to share it with their social media group, which extends the reach.

Much like website design, blogs can be as complicated or as simple as you like. You can make them colorful and picture-filled, or you can simply use text as the focal point.

At first, it's better to stick with a simple design, one that allows you to create a basic blog, without a lot of details. This way, as you have more time and you become more knowledgeable about the basics, you can add more flourishes.

However, there are also blog tools that can be added to many website setups, often coming as a part of a Web design package. If you already have a website, you can contact the webmaster, or you can look at the control panel for guidance.

There are a number of different things a blog can provide for you in terms of engagement online.

• Information sharing center – Most people will use a blog to share information about their products or their market. This can include articles about the latest market trends, or what technologies have emerged. For your widget business, you might talk about the latest products and innovations, or you might want to talk about the way that your company is responding to changes in the industry. Or you can keep the information personal and try to cultivate a personal relationship with your readers, which is often even more effective than selling.
• Announcement page – A blog can be a place where you talk about special events that are coming up for your business. This can include new products, new specials, what's going on behind the scenes, etc. If people know they have to turn to your blog for new information, they are more likely to come back to your site.
• Comments – Of course, Web 2.0 tools are most known for their ability to have comments from readers. You will want to turn on the comments for your blog posts and see what people have to say.
• Sharing of posts – You also can link up with other audiences in your market by having someone related to your field write a guest post. This way, their readers come to you and your readers see someone new on the blog.

As you begin to figure out how a blog will work for you, it can help to start reading other blogs to see how they engage. While you don't want to copy the methods of someone else, the more you learn from those who are successful, the better.

Comments are certainly a good starting point for engagement on a blog, but this doesn't mean that's all you can do. You might also want to create ways in which your readers can respond and inform the content of your blog.

For example, you might want to have a monthly blog post that asks for blog ideas. This will keep you from running out of things to say, while also helping you engage audiences even more.

When the audience sees that they are being heard, they are more likely to spread the word about what you're doing.

Also, keep track of the comments you receive and respond to them when you can. The more you can be a prominent voice on your own blog, the more you can show you are interested in your audience – and they will return the favor.

While you're reading comments, keep track of anything that seems to be a good idea for a blog. Name the commenter as being the source of the idea to show that others who engage more may just find their idea in the blog one day as well.

You will also want to make sure your blog includes social media sharing buttons so it's easy for people to tweet about your post, or share the link on Facebook, for example.

The easier it is to share, the more your blogs will be shared, and the more comments you will receive.