Many thanks to all who turned out for our very first webinar on Thursday.  Despite technical difficulties, (we called GoToMeeting’s tech support and discovered they were having audio problems across the board that morning) we persevered and hopefully you guys learned a little along the way.

There was a question during the webinar that we said we’d research.  The question concerned the demographics for a statistic that almost 60% of Americans interact with companies on a social media Web site.  That direct statistic came from the article here: IT Facts Article, and that article referenced this article - which has the demographic information for the study: Study by Cone.

Please stop by our group page at Facebook and post any other questions or comments you have about today’s Webinar.  We’d love to hear what you guys thought!  To find us, type “On Digital Ground” in the search box at the top right of the screen on any Facebook page.  You’ll find our group, our fan page, and Tom’s profile at the top of the search results.  Feel free to add all three!

Here is the outline from the Webinar.  Again, thanks for attending - and we look forward to seeing you next week!



Outline from Webinar April 16, 2008:

How To Market A Website – For FREE!

Presented by Tom Long – On Digital Ground

The key to any marketing plan…create a buzz!

It starts with your website

• You have 4 seconds to claim your site visitor’s attention.
• What do you need to have in a website to ensure you can capture their attention?
  • Informative Content
  • Professional, Engaging Design
  • Easy Navigation 
  • Keep your site fresh!!    
    

Learn the Basics of SEO

• All the pages of your website have to have unique page titles.
• Comprehensive Meta Tags are still important
• Track keywords and phrases that relate to your service or product and seed those keywords throughout your site.

Submit your site to Search Engines

• Look for “Submit A Site”
  • Google – www.google.com/addurl
  • Yahoo – siteexplorer.search.yahoo.com/submit
• Free Site Submission Sites
  • Don’t use “Link Farms”
• Update your Google/Yahoo Maps Listing
  • www.google.com/local/add

Utilize Search Sites

1. CraigsList.com
2. Google – www.google.com/base
3. Yahoo – realestate.yahoo.com
4. AOL – realestate.aol.com
5. ListnLook.com
6. Allthelistings.com

Word of Mouth

• YOU tell everyone you talk to that they need to go check out your website.
• Encourage your clients to tell everyone they know about your website.

Join the Social Networking World

• You have 4 seconds to claim your site visitor’s attention.
• What do you need to have in a website to ensure you can capture their attention?
  • Informative Content
  • Professional, Engaging Design
  • Easy Navigation 
  • Keep your site fresh!!    
    

Learn the Basics of SEO

• All the pages of your website have to have unique page titles.
• Comprehensive Meta Tags are still important
• Track keywords and phrases that relate to your service or product and seed those keywords throughout your site.

Submit your site to Search Engines

• Look for “Submit A Site”
  • Google – www.google.com/addurl
  • Yahoo – siteexplorer.search.yahoo.com/submit
• Free Site Submission Sites
  • Don’t use “Link Farms”
• Update your Google/Yahoo Maps Listing
  • www.google.com/local/add

Utilize Search Sites

1. CraigsList.com
2. Google – www.google.com/base
3. Yahoo – realestate.yahoo.com
4. AOL – realestate.aol.com
5. ListnLook.com
6. Allthelistings.com

Word of Mouth

• YOU tell everyone you talk to that they need to go check out your website.
• Encourage your clients to tell everyone they know about your website.

Join the Social Networking World

• Social Media Websites
  • MySpace
  • Facebook
  • Plaxo
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Flickr
  • Twitter
  • Blogspot
  • Yelp

• Associations
• Forums

Start a Blog

Blog about what?

• Tips and Tricks
• Newsletters
• Company Happenings
• Testimonials

Respond to other blogs with your URL in your signature.

Email Marketing

• Digital Signature
• Email Campaigns

*The key to Email Marketing – ASK for their address!

Press Releases

• www.24-7pressrelease.com
• www.prlog.org
• www.1888pressrelease.com

Drive traffic to your site

• Natural Search Engine Optimization  (SEO)
• Link Sharing
• Web Banners

Get Creative

• Get on television!
• Speak at local club meetings and events
• Create a local Share Club (Network Club)
  

Create a buzz!

We all know the economy is flaky right now.  Everyone's talking about it, everyone's worried about it, and the media won't stop babbling about it.  Everyone is tightening their belts right now in some way, and businesses are looking for ways to cut costs.  But is now really the the right time to be slashing your advertising budget?  Actually, it might not be the greatest idea right now.  Tough times may actually provide you the best opportunity to reach out to your clients with little or no competition!  Think about it - your competitors are cutting costs right now to attempt to save money, and no one is advertising in your market  If you want your business to survive the economic downturn and lay the groundwork to thrive when the economy improves, now is the time to advertise.

During good times everyone has the money (and bravery) to seek out clients, creating an atmosphere of extreme competition where reaching the consumer with your message proves to be exceedingly difficult. NOW is the time to have faith in your product or service, to reach out to your clients and to secure your success now and into the future. Read on to learn about easy and cost effective ways of doing so.

There are some simple things that you can do.
Everyone knows about the internet, but did you know there are FREE ways to get exposure on the internet?  And they are easy!  You can write an article about your industry, or a product, and submit it to one of the many sites that accept them.  At the end of your article, mention your business and have a link to your website.  Each site has its guidelines on how the articles are to be written, so make sure to follow them.  This will help establish you as a leader in your industry as long as the information you share is helpful and not entirely self-promoting.

Guerilla marketing is great in slow time.  Have some brochures or door hangers made.  During your slow time, have your employees go to a busy area and hand them out.  Now you are putting your message directly into the hands of prospective clients.  Make sure you have an attractive offer that will entice people to visit your business – a call to action.

Guerilla marketing works well online.  With blogs and social networking sites, there are opportunities to market your business in a different setting.  You can set up an account with a social networking site.  This will give out more information about your business and connect you with other businesses to network.  You can create blogs and check the response you get from each entry which can help you check what the market is interested in at any given time.  You can also find blogs that have an issue your company can help with - respond to that blog with your company information.

Cross promote with other businesses.  If you're feeling the pinch of the economy, most likely other businesses in your area/industry are feeling it as well.  Find other businesses that don't compete with yours and see about exchanging some flyers or a banner promoting each other's business.  If your business is online, do a link exchange with other businesses.  Be careful and don't overdo the link exchange or Google may lower your organic search results.  Be selective in who you work with both online and in the brick and mortar world.

Press Releases can be a very effective way to bring attention to your business.  If you have something that impacts the community, then you can have someone write a press release for you.  If you hire someone to do it for you, make sure they know how to write and distribute it.  Remember the topic must be something that impacts the community and not just a self-serving piece promoting your business.

These are just some of the ideas that will help your business grow in any economy. There are plenty of marketing options out there.  You just need to find the ones that work for you.  Now loosen the belt a notch, and hit the ground running!

So you're a brand new business owner. You just bought a brand-new building and you're going to sell - uh - goldfish. So you give your store a fresh coat of paint, line the inside with shelves and goldfish tanks, drop in the goldfish, and wait for the customers to start pouring in - right?

Wrong! You have to advertise. How else will people know about your fantastic store and your fantastic goldfish?

So you put an ad in the paper. You dress a guy up in a goldfish costume and have him wave at cars passing by. And most importantly - you create a website. In this day and age, consumers spend a lot of their time researching businesses online. And like anything you put your name on, you want your website to be professional and fantastic-looking. So you hire someone (like On Digital Ground for instance) to create your site - launch it - and presto! You're online! Fantastic! There's nothing more to do now, right?

Well, um - wrong. You wouldn't put a coat of paint on your building and then never touch it again, would you? Of course not - the paint would start to peel and look dingy and old. Even though the paint won't peel on a website, it will still look dingy and old if you never do anything to it. You shouldn't ignore your website once it's launched. When you advertise, do you use the exact same ad every time? No - you add new things, put new offers, give new information. Your website should be the same way. Display current sales and new offers on the homepage, add informative articles weekly about goldfish, you can even host a message board where people can chat about goldfish and upload pictures of their fishy friends. When people visit your site over and over and over again, they'll recognize you as a valuable business, they'll recommend you to their friends, they'll have your name fresh in their mind whenever a goldfish need arrises. Brand loyalty creates repeat business, and a changing website creates brand loyalty.

So pretend you're one of your customers and take a look at your site. Imagine you're seeing it through a customer's eyes. What things would you find interesting if they were different each week? What kinds of topics would you like to see talked about? What's something that would keep you coming back to this site on a regular basis? Then go one step further and ask friends and family these same questions. Ask your loyal customers - they know your business from a customer's standpoint better than anyone can pretend to.

We at On Digital Ground would be happy to help you keep your site current. We have the resources to be a webmaster for your site, or we can help you set up a CMS (Content Management System) and teach you how to update your site yourself. Either way, you know your site is fresh, interesting, and people can return over and over and find something new to explore each time.

The Internet is constantly evolving.  First we connect through phone lines, now we connect at lightning fast speeds through fiber optics.  Graphics used to be large and blocky, now we have crystal clear pictures and even moving video.  Anyone remember 5 1/4 floppy disks?  We can fit thousands of those on one little jump drive now.  When we see how quickly computers and internet technology have grown in the last few years, there's no telling where we'll be just a few more years down the road.

Every day more and more people are using their computers to do their footwork.  The Internet is a popular means of gathering media, doing research, and of course - conducting business.  Many people reach for a keyboard instead of a phone book or newspaper these days to research products and services.  Once all you needed was a sign in the front window and a telephone to run a business - but no more.  Business owners with a poorly designed online presence - or even worse, no presence at all - will quickly be passed over.  It is important for any business these days to develop and maintain an online presence to stay in the game.

Here are a few of the latest web statistics and trends:

• In the US, approximately 74.4% of the population use the Internet.
• Americans now spend on average of 11 hours per week on the Internet outside of work.
• The average time spent on a website is 51 secs.
• In 1998, Google logged 10,000 searches per day.  Only one year later, in 1999, that jumped to 500,000 searches per day.
• In July 2008, Google logged and average of 235 BILLION searches per day.
• As of February 2009, Google was reported as handling 73% of all searches performed on the Internet.
• As the monitor resolution and Internet speed is advancing, the trend has shifted to the use of over-sized photo or illustrated image as a website’s background to enhance the visual effect of the site.
• In 2008 more and more companies turned back to the use of a site map to assist site visitors and web spiders in finding all the pages within the site.  Toward the end of 2008 and into 2009, that trend has turned to the use of the site footer as the site map.
• It is reported that 42% of US companies still do not have a website.

It is important for a business to not only be familiar with the Internet world, but to jump in with both feet and become a part of it.  We at On Digital Ground are always happy to provide a spring-board to assist with the jumping.  We can answer any questions and provide examples of how internet marketing can allow you to develop new relationships with customers, and increase your business's profitability in an online world.

Ready . . .set . . . jump!

On Digital Ground takes the guesswork out of Internet advertising. We have recently partnered with ReachLocal to put together in one place everything local and regional businesses need to set-up, maintain, track and analyze local Internet advertising campaigns simply, affordably and comprehensively.

Major search engines such as Google®, Yahoo!, and MSN offer one of today's most affordable and effective advertising opportunities. And they are the ideal way to geographically target local consumers. Just look at the facts: The average number searches now well over 213 MILLION searches per day. 43% of search engine users are seeking a local merchant to buy something offline and 54% of search users have substituted Internet/search for the phone book.

When consumers are looking for products or services from a local business, the chances are good that their search begins or ends on the Internet. So, why don't more businesses advertise where local consumers are looking? Because managing local search advertising campaigns take time and specialized knowledge.

On Digital Ground, in partnership with ReachLocal, delivers easy-to-use, patent-pending technology and ROI-focused tools to help our clients achieve successful local Internet advertising campaigns. Our platform ensures that our clients' ads appear alongside only relevant keyword search results which produces leads through major search engines like Google, Yahoo, MSN, Ask.com, and AOL. We work to get ads placed in a high value position to generate the most efficient and qualified click-thrus to the local business's web site. And advertisers only pay when potential customers click on the ad and visit the business's site.

But that's not all On Digital Ground can do. When a local consumer clicks on an ad and goes to the Web site, we can track precisely how the consumer explores the site. Our clients can see first-hand which products or offers are attracting consumer attention, and whether their website is effectively designed to generate leads. On Digital Ground monitors and tracks when consumers who have clicked on an ad contact the local business by email or telephone, or print an offer coupon from the site. And we can record prospects calls to your business to ensure telephone inquiries are handled effectively.

Because On Digital Ground takes care of all the details, our clients can spend more time satisfying local customers and less time finding them.

Our Internet Marketing Services include:
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
Web Banners
Link Sharing / Affiliate Program
Strategic Keyword Marketing Package© (SKM)

Click here for more information about how On Digital Ground can assist you with your Internet Marketing needs.

So you may or may not have a MySpace page.  You may know a friend who has a Facebook site.  You may even have poked around and created a profile.  But did you know you can use social networking sites to market your business?  A lot of people don't know that these sites are a great resource for getting the word out about their business.

Social Networking is actually the fastest growing marketing tool today.  Neilson, a leader in Internet Activity, says that social networks and blogs are now the 4th most popular online activity ahead of personal email.  Neilson also reports that 67% of the global online population visit communities like Facebook and MySpace.  And to top it off, time spent on these types of sites accounts for almost 10% of all internet time, and this amount is growing at three times the overall internet rate.

Social networking sites give people the tools to meet at a common virtual location and communicate with each other, share what's going in on their lives, and trade opinions back and forth.  These sites have the tools necessary for people to produce and share meaningful content such as blogs,  pictures, and videos with each other.  Then other people can comment on this content.  It's a never-ending circle of sharing and communication.  The content and information on a social network does not come from the publisher, it comes from the users themselves – and their interaction is a major portion of the content.

Generally, online social networks attract members who bond over shared interests and opinions.  These sites help members connect with friends that share similar interests, and also allow them to find more online friends with shared interests or values.  You can find old high school buddies, or people in your community that also have dachshunds, or fellow sci-fi geeks who love Battlestar Galactica.  This creates a circle of virtually connected friends or associates.

How does this translate to marketing your business?  We all know that "word of mouth" endorsements are great ways to spread the word about your services, but in an online world, you can use "word of mouse."  If your business has a page on a social networking site, you have a presence in a virtual community of friends.  You develop a network of friends, and these friends can recommend you to other friends.

For example, let's say that Billy Bob just make a large pot of BBQ beans on the stove.  As Billy Bob was carrying them to the table, he tripped over his cat and dumped them all over his cream-colored carpet.  Billy Bob is naturally upset about this.  (Actually the cat isn't too happy about it either.)  Billy Bob sits down later that evening and describes in great detail on his Facebook blog how he spilled a perfectly good pot of BBQ beans all over his cream colored carpet and ruined it.  People can leave comments for blogs, and a couple hours later, Suzie Q leaves him a comment about how she spilled soy sauce all over her carpet, and XYZ Carpet Cleaning did a fabulous job removing the stain.  Turns out XYZ Carpeting Cleaning has a Facebook page and is one of Suzie Q's friends.  All Billy Bob has to do is click on XYZ's Facebook page, and he'll instantly have all their contact info, service info, and client testimonials right there.  Billy Bob gets the stain cleaned the next day.  Billy Bob's happy, XYZ Carpet Cleaning is happy, and Suzie Q's happy - because Billy Bob sent her his BBQ bean recipe.  The cat's still a little peeved, but cats hold grudges.  She'll be over it by next week.

Anyway, you've reached a customer in a way that didn't involve the customer watching or reading an ad, or opening a direct mailer.  You've created an online presence in a community of people, and will draw in those customers who are friends of other customers.  Alternatively, if you add content to your page and comment on other people's content, you can develop your own following on social media sites as an opinion-maker, authority, adviser, industry analyst, or wry observer.  And presto!  As a result of getting noticed in all the right places, you can generate leads and convert those leads into sales.

Even with all the options available to me online, I still enjoy going into a book store and holding a book in my hand before buying it. This is unfortunately becoming more and more difficult for me to do. Sites like Amazon and Half.com consistently beat brick and mortar bookstores on price and customer service. The inventory for computer related books has dwindled to almost nothing, except for the 'dummies' series, which is always well stocked, and should be a good indication of how bookstores view us.

Today I was at a local big chain bookstore looking for a baby book. I was unable to find it on my own, and so I opted for the self serve information kiosk, which was occupied. After waiting in line for a bit, I found my way to what they call the 'Information Station'. There was no-one there. Walking up to the front of the store, I asked the checkout clerk if he was able to help me find a book with his register. His answer was, 'No, but I can call someone to the Information Station for you'. After walking back and waiting about 15 minutes (no kidding!) at the Information Station, I went back to the front of the store and attempted to get the attention of the same clerk I had spoken with before. He was busy talking with another clerk... a female.

While I waited for them to finish their conversation, I fiddled with my iPhone. Ahhhh... free Wifi. It took me about 30 seconds to find the book I was looking for on Half.com, and another minute to purchase it. When the clerk finally acknowledged me there... I politely said, 'Thanks, but I found what I was looking for.' By then, I had already purchased the book on their dime using the free internet they were so nice to provide for guests.

If you have a brick and mortar storefront, it is now more important than ever to go above and beyond for your customers because they have so many more options available to them, many of them much more competitive than you are able to be. Sometimes the only thing that differentiates you from your online competitors is a smile, handshake, or the simple attentive acknowledgement that your customer is patiently standing right there with money in hand. It is vital to your organization for you to reach out to those of us who still value these things, and who value the ability to hold what we are buying in our hands before we purchase it. There are so few of us left, and some of us are getting frustrated with paying so much more for so much less.

Is your organization socially aware? If you're asking what that means, it probably isn't, and you're probably not alone. Internet marketing has changed dramatically over the last several years with the introduction of social networks like Twitter, Facebook, Myspace and others. Even blogging has nearly been replaced by these hubs of interactivity, where millions of your customers flock on a daily, hourly, or even on a minute by minute basis. Status updates border on the obsessive for some users, and many organizations are moving in on the attention capital found here, but only a select few are doing it well.



Recently I came across a sidebar advertisement on Facebook from the Burger King, inviting me to 'Sacrifice Your Friends' in exchange for a whopper. I have a large number of 'friends' on my Facebook account, many of them from an online game I play called "Mobwars", and so the seemingly hefty prerequisite of 10 friends burning into flame broiled deletion was not that much of a sacrifice for me, as it was easy to find 10 people I really didn't know. What was interesting about this campaign is that it actually told all 10 people what I was trading their friendship for, and gave them all the opportunity to do the same to 10 of their friends, including me. This process put the Burger King brand in front of at least 11 people for the cost of a whopper. What's more, when I went to Burger King, I did get fries with that.

What Burger King has done with this campaign is they have successfully asked for and obtained my permission to market me, engaged me in the process, and obtained referral for 10 other people who I am connected to, who they sent messages to. They also got me to visit one of their locations and buy something, which is something I haven't done in several years. The entire experience of being marketed to was consistently fun, right down to receiving the free whopper card in the mail.

When performed correctly, social network marketing can greatly benefit your organization with stronger bones and healthier teeth. 9 out of 10 flame broiled friends recommend using On Digital Ground.

For more information on how you can get started marketing your product or service using social networking, click here 

Although the term suggests a new version of the World Wide Web, it does not refer to an update to any technical specifications, but rather to changes in the ways software developers and end-users utilize the Web.  Web 2.0 websites allow users to do more than just retrieve information.  They give the user the ability to interact with the site choosing what they want to see and how they want it presented. 

The term "Web 2.0" describes the new trend in web design created to enhance your online experience.  Web 2.0 is constantly evolving and includes communications, secure information sharing, collaboration and functionality of the web. Web 2.0 developments have led to the evolution of web culture communities and hosted services, such as social-networking sites (MySpace and Facebook), video sharing sites (YouTube), wikis (Twitter) and blogs (Blogspotter).   

Today I participated in a webinar with Howard Partridge of Phenomenal Products.  I was one of 3 other guest speakers.  One of the other panelist was David Akindele of Reach Local - an international Internet marketing company specializing in Pay-Per-Click programs.  David talked about Search Engine searches and the 3 different types and I wanted to pass that information on to you.

There are 3 types of Searches:
Navigational:  This simply means that a 'searcher' knows what they are looking for.  They may know the company name.  They may even know the domain name.  (Yes, people sometimes go directly to Google to put in a domain name then click on the link in the index to go to the site.  It's an extra step or two but they do it.)  This searcher typically goes to the Organic Search Index to find what they are looking for.

Transactional:  This searcher knows what they need and they need someone now.  They don't do a lot of research on it - they did that on another visit.  They just come to the Internet searching for who can give it to them the quickest.  This searcher typically migrates to the Sponsored Links Index because they know that these are the aggressive companies - the companies that are there and ready to serve them right now.

Information:  This searcher is looking for information.  This is where the do their research.  Who offers what they are looking for?  Who has the best presentation to give them what they need?  And where can they find it - locally or elsewhere?  This searcher tends to use a mixture of both the Organic Search Index and the Sponsored Links Index to find what they are looking for.  They want to know where the information is going to be when they need it.

By understanding the 3 Types of Searches you can know how to focus your marketing dollars.