Collaboration is Key in Virtual Communications
March 27, 2009
I am always looking for good web-based collaboration tools as I constantly need to collaborate virtually. That’s how I found Onehub, this tool is not simply for collaboration, it can be used as an FTP replacement. With a free account you can only set up one hub, where you basically can upload 1 GB of files. Your hub can include calendars as well in addition to discussion boards, task lists, images, RSS feeds and video.
Paid accounts are available too – from $19 per month up to $249 per month. Details are available on the Onehub website.
Central Desktop is a great collaboration and project management platform. It has too much power for a solopreneur, but is great for teams and workgroups to share information and communicate with other members. Paid accounts start from $25 per month.
How Should You Improve Your Web Presence in 2009?
March 25, 2009
Static websites are out. Make sure your website is interactive to keep visitors coming back. Small businesses need to improve their online marketing efforts to ensure their websites meet visitors’ needs and expectations.
Add customer reviews, feedback and testimonials. If you are selling products online, provide customers the ability to provide product ratings and reviews. It enhances the user experience and gives prospective buyers the confidence to buy as well as leads to customer loyalty. So, if a customer was happy with their purchase from your online store, make sure you add feedback to your website.
E-newsletter: An e-newsletter is a must-have tool that makes it easy and cost effective to communicate with a mass audience. First, make sure you have a content rich e-newsletter. Make sure you are promoting it. Add an e-newsletter sign-up form to your home page and give visitors proper incentive to subscribe. If you don’t have a large email list yet, no worries. Add a forwarding feature to the newsletter so your subscribers can forward your newsletter to their friends, and colleagues.
RSS feeds: Forrester Research, in its “RSS 101 for Marketers” report, said, “RSS is a powerful tool that marketers should test and deploy to proactively maintain relationships with their customers.”
RSS is a technology that enables users to “subscribe” to content from websites without providing an email address. When the content is updated, users automatically get notified and their “RSS Reader” pulls this content directly from the source. Since the content is pulled instead of “pushed”, marketers don’t have to worry about their message being caught in spam filters.
Have a blog on your website? Integrating multiple RSS feeds into your website allows visitors to read the content that’s most important to them.
SEO is making its way into marketing plans and budgets. By focusing on SEO, businesses have the potential to increase their position in search engines, increase traffic to their websites, and as a result, drive revenue. Begin your SEO efforts by ensuring that all of your web site content is optimized with the keywords your prospective customers will use to find you. Relevant content is the key to achieving higher rankings in search engines. Don’t know which key words are right for your business or how to begin optimizing your content. Use Wordtracker.
Consistent message throughout your web content: Websites need to be updated with new content regularly to keep customers coming back. Focus on message consistency. Make the message in your email campaign cohesive with the message on your website. All forms of communication including your website, e-newsletter, collateral and advertising should consistently deliver the same message in order to maximize the potential of your marketing efforts.
Rethink Your Small Business Marketing
March 25, 2009
Email marketing – Hire an expert if you feel that you are not cut out to manage databases and lists. Find a reliable vendor to work with. Constant Contact and Vertical Response are good.
Direct Mail – How effective is your Direct Mail marketing? Are you measuring your results? Anything printed has to be carefully thought out as you may be wasting money, time and natural resources. Maybe you could upload most of your marketing materials to your website and switch to email marketing campaigns.
Discounts – Are you offering special extras, online only content or freebies? Consider online coupons, try Intellogy.
Viral Marketing – Are you creating compelling content that is picked up and shared person-to-person via social networking sites?
Have you considered creating your company profile on Merchant Circle or Facebook?
