E-Business

1. E-Business Promoting Our Site Improving and Analyzing Our Site (Continued)

2. Overview • Promoting our site • promotional and advertising opportunities online (continued) • search engines • Improving and analyzing our site • pre-grand opening check list • soliciting comments and feedback from visitors • keeping the content fresh

3. Traditional advertising • Millions of everyday people are Web users. So it makes perfect sense to promote our website using traditional advertising. • Traditional advertising vehicles also include newspapers, magazines, radio, network television, cable television, syndicated television, billboards,in-theater advertising, direct mail, trade shows, etc. • One inexpensive way to tap the power of traditional print advertising is to run an ad in a special-interest magazine or newsletter which caters specifically to the target audience we need to reach.

4. Traditional advertising • For example, the founder of www.onlyonecreations.com – Scott Meyer, an artist and online business operator, created his e-commerce business to sell the fine writing instruments he creates from scratch. Each of his pens is a unique work of art. He determined that one of the niche markets he needs to reach through advertising is fountain-pen collectors. To reach this market, he runs print ads in a special-interest magazine called Pen World. • Likewise, Christian Girts, the founder of www.anglesrsvice.com, has discovered that advertising in special-interest fly-fishing magazines is one ideal way to reach his target audience, which is comprised of fly-fishermen.

5. Blogging • One of the newer trends for communicating online is through the use of blogs. A blog is simply an online-based digital diary or forum. As of mid-2005, there were more than nine million blogs online. There are even more today, as they are being launched daily. • A blog offers an informal way to communicate with people using primarily text, graphics, and photos. • Although blogging has become extremely popular, among computer enthusiasts, as a way to keep in touch with friends and family, and also to meet new people online in an informal way, online business owners have also discovered that blogging can be a powerful marketing and promotions tool.

6. Blogging • By creating a blog, written by the president or owner of our online business, for example, we can create an ongoing digital diary (that gets updated daily, weekly or monthly) to keep potential and existing customers up-to-date on events happening in the company. • Next, people reading the blog can post their won comments, ideas, or suggestions for others to read. • Therefore, the blog can be used as a communication tool, offering a more interactive alternative to a traditional newsletter.

7. Blogging • Nowadays, business operators, politicians, celebrities, hobbyists, writers, etc. use blogs to reach out to the general public, or a specific audience, and share thoughts or ideas. • Google operates one of the most popular blogging services, called Blogger.com, which can be used to easily create a blog. • If we create a blog through that service, it can be used to communicate the following:

8. Blogging • Information about the day-to-day operation of our company • Details about our product/services, inluding previewes of new products • Announcements about sales and special promotions • Practical tips and strategies for using our products or service • Answers to questions from current or potential customers • Testimonials from our customers • Useful information relating to our industry, which our potential customers would find valuable

9. Podcasting • Podcasting involves recording an audio program, for example a full-length radio show, and making int available for download in a file format which can be transferred to an iPod or MP3 player. • It is a technology used to ‘push’ audio content from websites down to consumers, who typically listen to it on iPod or other audio player. • Podcasting allows individuals and small businesses to publish (podcast) radio shows, or other audio files, that interested listeners can subscribe to. • An online business can use a Podcast to tell people about its products, how to best use them, and to offer audio tutorials, testimonials, or other information.

10. Online Newsletter • A newsletter can be used to communicate a marketing message to potential and existing customers. It is also a great way to inform potential customers about new products. • It can be accessed free of charge from the company website and/or e-mailed to people on the opt-in-list. • The newsletter can be published weekly, biweekly, or monthly.

11. Online Newsletter • The newsletter content may not be solely an advertising. It needs to offer information of value to the audience. For example: how-to articles, advice, industry-related news, interviews with experts, or other articles the target audience will be interested in.

12. Search Engines • How are typical Web users supposed to find our site, and why should they even care to look for it? • For users of any skill level, the fastest and easiest way to locate information on the Web is by using a search engine. Some popular search engines are: • Google www.google.com • Yahoo www.yahoo.com • AltaVista www.altavista.com • AOL Search www.aol.com • HotBot www.hotbot.com • MSN Search www.msn.com • Lycos www.lycos.com

13. Search Engines • Therefore, our first step with a new online business should be to ensure that our site is prominently listed with all of the popular search engines. • Also, simply by being listed may not necessarily suffice, because when a user sees a list of possible links as a result of their search, our web site needs to be one of the very first to get a good chance of the user actually visiting the site.

14. Search Engines • With so many websites available, and much of intense competition among them, obtaining a top listing usually is not a trivial task. • The process of obtaining a prominent listing placement on a search engine is known as a search-engine optimization. • Focusing on optimization and achieving a good placement on engines like Google or Yahoo will definitely drive traffic to our website on regular basis.

15. Search Engines • Another way to utilize the power of search engines is by taking advantage of the paid advertising and paid placement opportunities available. It will ensure that when someone enters a particular search phrase or keyword that is relevant to our site, a link to our site will actually appear within a visible scope (ex. on the first page of results) • Signing up for Google or Yahoo AdWords service costs about $30 per month. This investment, however, will most likely prove quite beneficial.

16. Search Engines • Nowadays, services such as Yahoo!Excite, AltaVista, Lycos and others have become information portals - while they still function as basic search engines, they also offer personalized news, sports, and weather reports, online shopping, and chatting. • For these reasons, on the Web, search engines were among the first viable online businesses. Millions of users visit these sites daily to find information. Many people even assign a search engine as their web browser’s home page.

17. Search Engines • Because search engines are free to use, companies such as Google and Yahoo sell online advertising and sponsorships to generate revenue. Advertising on a popular search engine, or information portal is an ideal way to reach large numbers of Internet users. It is further possible to target the specific audience we are interested in. * NOTE: the remaining part of this lecture was written on the white board in class