Internet Communications - How to Use in Your Business

1www.smbtrendwire.com

E-Communication in the 21st Century

COSE Small Business Conference

October 2006


Your Presenters

Anita Campbell

Steve Rucinski

Find us at:

Small Business Trends

www.smallbiztrends.com

Small Business CEO

www.smbceo.com


Choose Your Communication“One-to-Many”

Type Tech difficulty

Customers:

existing vs. new

PR Value

SEO Value

Blogs Low to Medium

Both High High

Forums Low New Low Low

Podcasts Low to Medium

Both Medium Low to Medium

Email newsletters

Low to Medium

Existing Low None unless posted online

Social networking

Low New Medium Low

Listservs Low New Low None


Blogs

• Chronologically arranged websites (short for web + log)

• Use to communicate with public and customers• Advantages over traditional websites:

– Draw visitors back (fresh content + conversational features)

– Lots of linking to other sites (great for search engines)

– Easy and fast to update– Inexpensive


Business Blog Example“Me to You”


Blog Interactivity

Comments by readers


Blogs LinksMultiple links to other sites


Blog Software Tools

• Start fast with free, hosted options: – Blogger - www.blogger.com – WordPress hosted version - www.wordpress.com

• Upgraded versions offer more flexibility:– WordPress non-hosted version is free except for

setup and hosting charges - www.wordpress.org – TypePad starts at $5 per month: www.typepad.com – Movable Type also popular - www.movabletype.com

• For more resources,visit: www.smallbiztrends.com/blogging


Internet Forums

• An Internet forum is a Web site for holding discussions

• There are forums for a large number of different topics

• Also commonly referred to as web forums, message boards, discussion boards, discussion forums, discussion groups, bulletin boards


Forum Example


Forums - Get Started

• Use your favorite search engine with the topic of your choice followed by ‘forum’

• Pick a forum with many users and recent activity

• Also check out www.boardtracker.com


Podcasting

• Podcasting, a combination of Apple's "iPod“ and "broadcasting“

• A method of publishing audio (MP3) files to the Internet

• Allows users to subscribe to a “feed” using special podcatcher or feedreader sites/software, and be notified of new recordings automatically


Podcasting - Recording

How Does it Work? (Recording)

• Publishers record audio content and then post it on a website for listeners.

• Create or edit an existing RSS feed including a link to the audio file in the "enclosure" field of an RSS 2.0 feed, uploading it to a website.

• Tell the world that a podcast is available.


Podcasting - Listening

How Does it Work? (Listening)

• Set up a podcatcher or feedreader that supports podcasting or sync a wireless device like an iPod with your computer.

• Enter the URL of the podcast feed into the feedreader or podcatcher of your choice.

• As new items appear, review the podcast's description and listen to those of interest.


iTunes – THE Place for Podcasts


Odeo - Easy Way to Record Podcasts


Gcast – Another Easy Way to Record


How to Get Started – Advanced

• Secure audio recording equipment

• Secure audio recording software

• Record the audio

• Find resource to host the audio files

• Identify website to distribute audio through

• Create RSS Feed for subscribers

• Market podcast to directories (like iTunes)


Podcasting Resources

• http://studio.odeo.com• http://www.gcast.com• http://www.podshowcreator.com• http://www.podblaze.com• http://www.gabcast.com• http://www.hipcast.com

• Podcasting Whitepaper (http://tinyurl.com/zlmx2)

• Podcasting for Dummies Ebook (http://tinyurl.com/mca3g)


Email Newsletters

• Email is not dead• A house list is worth its weight in gold• Newsletters keep your business front and

center with customers• Can-Spam law makes it trickier:

– Penalties for sending unsolicited emails– Email should be opt-in (preferably “double

opt-in”)


Email Newsletters

• Don’t DIY! Email marketing services:– Improve delivery rates (whitelisting)– Comply with Can-Spam law– Offer advanced personalization and HTML templates

• Recommendations:– Vertical Response: www.verticalresponse.com

– Constant Contact: www.constantcontact.com

– Lyris: www.lyris.com

– Bronto: www.bronto.com


Email Marketing Example

•Design

•List admin

•Mailing


Discussion Lists & Listservs

• A listserv is a communication tool that lets members post suggestions or questions to a distribution list (like cc’ing on email).

• You submit a question or comment, which is then distributed to all of the other people on that list.

• Can be public or private lists


Listserv Example


Listservs - How to Get Started

• Use your favorite search engine with the topic of your choice followed by ‘listserv’

• Pick a listserv with many users and recent activity

• Complete an application if required, dive in and make a comment or ask a question


Social Networking Sites

• Places on the Internet where people meet in cyberspace to chat, socialize, debate, and network. Some examples include MySpace.com, Friendster.com, and Facebook.com.

• Business-oriented social networking or community sites include: – Linkedin.com– Fastpitch.com– Jumpup.com – Work.com


LinkedIn Example


JumpUp – A New Breed


MySpace Example


FastPitch Example


Social Networking - Get Started

• Start with one of the sites; enter a profile of you and your business.

• Search for and invite others you know to connect with you through the service.

• Update your profile regularly, and communicate with your network frequently.


Choose Your Communication“One to One”

Type Tech difficulty Expense

Web-based Email Low Free

Email Program (Outlook, etc.)

Low to Medium Medium

PDFs Low to Medium Free to Medium


Web-Based Email

• Revolution!– Online services – no need to install -- access

anywhere from a Web browser

• Today’s offerings competitive:– Advanced message compose and organizing– Built-in spam filtering and anti-virus– Huge storage: up to 2+ GB– Packaged with other offerings: spreadsheets,

calendar, Web design tool, domain hosting


Web-Based Email

• Three impressive – FREE - options – GMail – www.gmail.com– Yahoo mail - http://mail.yahoo.com– Microsoft Office Live –

http://officelive.microsoft.com

• Set up a free account and try them out


GMail – So Much More than Email


Yahoo Mail – User Friendly


Office Live – Designed for Small Biz


Microsoft Outlook Email & Others

• Outlook on the desktop still the biz standard – Contact management– Email – Calendar

• Advanced mail functions:– Mail merge – Elaborate filtering, search

• Other alternatives:– WordPerfect only full-featured alternative– Open-source competitors no match


PDFs

• Universal document format– Users use free Adobe Reader to view PDFs– Harder to tamper with

• Useful for whitepapers, presentations, eBooks


PDFs - Creating

• Many free and low cost options now available to create PDFs:– Adobe.com online service - $9.99/month– PDF995.com – free version or $10 to

upgrade– WordPerfect now creates PDFs– Many other solutions exist – search for “pdf

writer” or “create pdf”


Questions?


Contact

Anita Campbell

• [email protected]

• 330.242.1893

Steve Rucinski

• [email protected]

• 330.321.4777

Technology

Internet Communications - How to Use in Your Business