Technology and Trends: Harnessing the Web for Business Success

2. Agenda • Introduction • Statistics & Trends • Investigate opportunity using the web and new tools • Technology for the right price! • Wrap-up

3. Tim O’Brien, Business consultant -Information Technology Consultant • Tim.obrien@nebraska.gov • 402.471.3769 • LinkedIn Profile: http://www.linkedin.com/in/timothyrobrien

4. Three things to learn Technology can make your life easier The website is the MOST important marketing tool Technology tools for low to no cost!

5. Social networking is growing exponentially & influencing business decisions • Your audience is more integrated and active online than ever • The war for talent is escalating • Needs & demands on telecom are increasing exponentially • It is essential to fully understand your audience and monitor trends • “Style” is Critical • Generational Marketing • Technology is continuing to flatten the world

10. Features of Web 2.0 • Enhanced retail opportunities • Real-time web updates • Community support & loyalty • Dynamic web features that increase market visibility & quality • Increased workforce & worker connectivity • Social networking • Professional networking

11. Web 2.0 Web 2.0 Directory - http://www.go2web20.net/ Examples • Digg.com • Skype.com • Blogger.com • Rocketboom.com • Mahalo.com • LinkedIn.com • Chacha.com • Flickr.com • Facebook.com • Twitter.com • Revision3.com • 37signals.com Web 2.0 Explained on YouTube - http://youtube.com/watch?v=nsa5ZTRJQ5w

12. More Trends • 36% of online American adults consult Wikipedia • 24% of Teens have a Blog • More than half (55%) of all online American youths ages 12-17 use online social networking sites. • Internet users are becoming more aware of their digital footprint; 47% have searched for information about themselves online, up from just 22% five years ago. • 48% of internet users have been to video-sharing sites such as YouTube and the daily traffic to such sites on a typical day has doubled in the past year.

13. More Trends • Almost all internet users (93%) have at one time or another done something related to e-commerce. • 81% of internet users have used the internet to do research about a product they are thinking about buying, with 20% doing this on the typical day. • 66% of online users have purchased a product online, such as books, music, or clothing, with 6% saying they do this on the typical day. • 64% have bought or made a travel reservation online, such as an airline ticket, hotel room, or rental car, with 4% doing so on the average day.

14. More Trends • 26% have participated in an online auction, with 3% doing this on the average day. • 17% have paid to access or download digital content, such as a newscast, sporting event, or radio show; some 4% do this on the typical day. • 11% have bought or sold stocks online, and just 1% do this on the average day. • 62% of all Americans are part of a wireless, mobile population that participates in digital activities away from home or work.

15. More Trends • Social Networks • Web Applications • Real Estate • Remote Work • Communication • Online Videos • File Sharing • Gaming • Management Styles

16. Pew’s - Home Broadband 2008 • http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/257/report_display.asp • 55% of all adult Americans now have a high-speed internet connection at home • The percentage of Americans with broadband at home has grown from 47% in early 2007 • 34% of all internet users have connected to the internet using WiFi at someplace other than work or home

19. E-Commerce • Internet • Understand the web and trends • Know how information is organized and located • Business Model • Business objectives, value delivery, revenue model, Management • Marketing • Build traffic, establish loyalty, pricing models, distribution • Goal: Satisfied customers

20. Market Research is Essential There are tools to help!

21. Market Research for EC • The Goal of Market Research To find information and knowledge that describes the relationships among consumers, products, marketing methods, and marketers • The Aim of Market Research To discover marketing opportunities and issues, to establish marketing plans, to betterunderstand the purchasing process, and to evaluate marketing performance

22. Market Research Facebook.com Any enthusiast forum pewinternet.org nielsen-netratings.com neded.org Marketresearch.com 2020research.com Infosurv.com DNB.com Marketingsherpa.com Nielsenmedia.com Clickz.com Doubleclick.com Selfpromotion.com Admedia.org Targetonline.com Wdfm.com

23. Web Analytics

24. Track users Mouse Movements and Clicks Click Density - http://www.clickdensity.com Google Analytics - http://www.google.com/analytics/

25. Facebook • What is Facebook? • Poll - How many people have Facebook accounts? • Groups • Pages • Market Research • Direct Target Marketing!!!

27. Facebook • Facebook applications

28. LinkedIn.com • Connect to more than 30 million professionals! • Learn • Collaborate • Promote

29. YouTube • How many have uploaded a video to youtube? • User/viewer created video • Huge market reach • Demonstrate products, services, destinations • Doesn’t have to be “professional” • Easy to create and upload • Ability to embed into your website

31. Flickr.com • What is Flickr? • How to use Flickr • Upload photos • Utilize tags • Joining groups • Embed photography into websites • Washington Tourism • http://flickr.com/groups/saywa_group • http://flickr.com/groups/californiavines/

32. Blogs • Almost essential for small or niche business • Provides constant updates to customers • Drives traffic to your site • Creates “enthusiasts” • Easy to manage and setup

33. Other thoughts • Forums • Easy to create • Will almost manage themselves • Be active in existing forums • Include your website and products in your profile • Ability to receive feedback and learn from customers

34. E-Mail Marketing Use a tool like – Constant Contact http://www.constantcontact.com

35. Equipment - Mobility What’s in your bag?

36. Web Management – Content Management Systems I highly recommend the use of a Content Management System (CMS) for your website What is a CMS? a web application used for creating and managing websites and web content it is simple for even non-technical users to add or edit content, update images, and to manage the critical data that makes your company or organization go Anybody with basic word processing skills can easily learn to manage a CMS site Very flexible and expandable Keeps things consistent and easily managed/changed Therefore, Focus on Content…This is the MOST IMPORTANT! Many CMS are pre-installed by website hosts

37. Web Design – Content Management Systems Who uses content management systems? Nearly all large websites (www.nytimes.com, www.vw.com, www.theonion.com,) How much do content management systems cost? Most are open source (free) to millions of dollars The examples I included above all run on open source CMS systems!

38. Web Design – Content Management Systems Content Management Systems I recommend Joomla – www.joomla.org Drupal – www.drupal.org Reviews and demos of nearly all CMS can be found at - http://www.opensourcecms.com

39. Software – Office Software Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Access, Publisher) ~ $400 Alternatives to MS Office OpenOffice.org ~ Free Includes Alternatives to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access Opens and Saves into MS Office Formats (.doc, .xls, ect.) One Click PDF Creation Other Programs included Math & Draw

40. Software – Office Software Lotus Symphony ~ Free http://symphony.lotus.com/software/lotus/symphony/ Google Docs & Spreadsheets ~ Free docs.google.com/ Share & Collaborate Web Based StarOffice ~ $70 http://www.sun.com/software/star/staroffice/

41. Software – Desktop Publishing Layout Programs Microsoft Publisher ~ $150 QuarkXPress ~ $800 Adobe’s InDesign ~ $700 Scribus – Free - http://www.scribus.net Photo Editing & Organization Adobe’s Photoshop ~ $650 Adobe’s Photoshop Elements ~ $100 Gimp – Free - http://www.gimp.org

42. Software – Desktop Publishing Microsoft Photo Gallery – Free with Windows Vista Organizes & Edit Photos Google’s Picasa – Free - http://picasa.google.com/ Organizes & Edit Photos Picnik http://www.picnik.com/ Free & Web Based!

43. Software – PDF Creation Adobe Acrobat Professional ~ $450 Create & Edit PDFs Nuance PDF Convertor Professional ~ $100 Create & Edit PDFs CutePDF Professional ~ $50 Simple Edit Tools & Creation tools for PDF CutePDF Writer ~ Free http://www.cutepdf.com/products/CutePDF/writer.asp Create PDFs

44. Online Communication & Collaboration Skype http://www.skype.com GizmoCall https://www.gizmocall.com/ Google Talk http://www.google.com/talk/ Live Messenger AIM WebEx

45. Online Communication & Collaboration Microsoft Groove Microsoft Live Meeting 37signals.com Basecamp - Collaborate with your team and clients. Schedules, tasks, files, messages, and more. Highrise - Keep track of who your business talks to, what was said, and what to do next. Backpack - Gather your ideas, to-dos, notes, photos & files online. Set email and mobile reminders. Campfire - It's like instant messaging, but optimized for groups. Especially great for remote teams.

46. Thanks! Tim O’Brien, Information Technology Consultant • tim.obrien@nebraska.gov • 402.471.3769 • LinkedIn Profile: http://www.linkedin.com/in/timothyrobrien