beginning web for business presentation
DESCRIPTION
TRANSCRIPT
Using the Web for Your Business
Barry RobertsProgram Manager, WebmasterUW-Madison SBDC
Goals for the Session
1. Determine the best way to use the Web for your business
2. Review best practices for developing a successful web presence
3. Demonstrate one way to build and launch a new site
4. Share resources
Survey Says:Do you already have a website?
70%
30%
1. Yes
2. No
Have you registered a domain name?
74%
26%
1. Yes
2. No
Do you sell online now?
96%
4%
1. Yes
2. No
Are you using social media for your business?
65%
35%
1. Yes
2. No
How will you develop & manage your web presence?
29%
5%
67%
1. Do it yourself
2. Hire an independent consultant to help
3. Hire a design & marketing firm
Which topic would be most helpful to you now? (choose one)
Domains &
hosting
Web si
te design
Marketing on th
e web
E-co
mmerce
Web busin
ess str
ategy
Oth
er?
14% 14%
5%
23%23%23%
1. Domains & hosting
2. Web site design
3. Marketing on the web
4. E-commerce
5. Web business strategy
6. Other?
Three Uses for the Web
1. Informational– Catalog– Brochure– Customer finds you
2. Marketing– You find the customer– E-promotions– Provide incentives
3. Selling: e-commerce– Monetization– Fulfillment & Service
Selling
Marketing
Informational
Why the Web?
What do you want your website to accomplish?
Highlight products/services Attract new clients Serve existing clients Sell products online
Target Customers
Who are they? What do they want from you? How do they use the web? How much time do they spend on the web? How much money do they have to spend? How technology savvy are they?
How Customers Use the Web
1. Informational Highlight products/services News/updates/resources Service and contact information
2. Marketing E-promotions & S.E.O. Content expert-blog, report Social networks
3. Selling: e-commerce Marketplace-eBay, Amazon Own online store
Selling
Marketing
Informational
Informational Website
Relatively easy to create & update Low cost Gets you into search engines and listings Usually static, not very interactive
Listing like Yellow Pages E-brochure
Good place to start & build up
Web Site Design
1. Do it yourself– Homestead www.homestead.com – Design software: Dreamweaver, Frontpage
2. Hire a designer
3. Hire a firm to design, host and market your site
DIY Using Homestead
Four Main Steps
1. Sign-up
2. Choose a design
3. Customize It
4. Publish it
Choose a Design
Internet Marketing
Customer information and feedback Use incentives to get contact information
Email marketing Affiliate marketing programs Paid ads Blogs and articles e-Newsletter or reports
Always ask for contact information: opt-in lists
Social media—Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn
Quick ‘n Dirty Content Marketing
1. You know good stuff.
2. Offered in the right form (friendly, engaging, portable), the stuff that you know can be helpful, valuable, entertaining to people.
3. People will like you for offering it to them.
4. People will tell others about you giving them good stuff.
5. Those people may buy your product/service.
6. Lather, rinse, repeat…Adapted from posting by Kat French, June 17, 2009
Web Resources
Domain name search www.whois.net Homestead www.homestead.com Constant Contact www.constantcontact.com IMS www.ims.net (local resource) SEO Book www.seobook.com Google for AdWords, Kewords, Analytics, etc. eBay marketplace www.ebay.com PayPal online payments www.paypal.com Web help resource www.websitetips.com Design help www.websitesthatsuck.com
Search Engine Optimization
The Small Business Owner's Handbook to Search Engine Optimization: Increase Your Google Rankings, Double Your Site Traffic...In Just 15 Steps - Guaranteed (Paperback)
by Stephen Woessner (Author)
Action Steps
1. Use business planning principles for planning your web presence.
2. Determine how you will build a site:1. Self
2. Hire an independent designer
3. Hire a web design & marketing firm
3. Determine your web marketing strategy
4. Start experimenting & upgrading
Questions? Other Resources?
User Profiles
Creators: make content-blog, music, pics, video Critics: respond to content-reviews, comments Collectors: organize content-RSS, tags, votes Joiners: joins groups, social networking sites Spectators: reads, watches, listens Inactives: doesn’t participate online
From Groundswell by Josh Bernoff and Charlene Li of Forrester Research