Keystone Click - The Key to Your Web Foundation

If business is slow, as most businesses are these days, what are you doing to bring business back up to speed? I can tell you what I’m doing. Contacting everyone I know!

Your most important connections are the ones you already have. Sift through your business card collection and find a viable reason to periodically contact those connections and keep your name in front of them. Regardless if the intention is to do business with them or not, Joe Smith may very well know someone who needs your services. Your viable reason could simply be grabbing a cup of coffee and catching up.

Google your own company’s name. Yes, SEO is important, but that’s not the reason for this post. Besides your own website, what else is showing up? News articles? Blog posts? Comments on forums? Is the information positive or negative? Writing and submitting press releases is a simple way to get additional exposure online and in the search engines. Whether you submit the press release electronically or by snail mail, most publications will still add the release to their website. Fresh content is usually displayed above old content. If the information you find about your company is negative, writing a press release can push the negative content further into the search results – making it less likely your audience will see it when searching for your company.

Get out their and network. Start creating new connections by attending a new organization. Step outside of your comfort zone and try a new organization. New networking groups are popping up left and right, each with its own unique approach to connecting individuals. Try something new. More importantly, find one you like and get involved in the organization.

Recently I have heard some excellent approaches to staying in the forefront during these challenging economic times. Not only am I receiving some good ideas, but I am sharing ideas with my connections. And even more important, connecting my connections with others.

Paying it forward, check out where some of my inspiration for this post came from:

www.katewrites.com – Kate Kotecki, Independent Writing and Editing Professional

www.clearverve.com – Christina Steder, Marketing and Public Relations Professional

These approaches represent everything except innovation. They are common rules to successful business practice; nonetheless it doesn’t hurt to be kindly reminded of the rules occassionaly.

In an age when everyone from housewives to celebrities call themselves bloggers, it hardly seems worth it for professional organizations to jump onto the overcrowded blogging bandwagon. Even the most seasoned marketing experts have more questions than answers about the rules of play for businesses blogging. Who writes the blog? What do we write about? How do we monitor the comments posted on the blog? Who monitors the comments on the blog? As if the seemingly infinite amount of material on the internet weren’t overwhelming enough, the blogosphere sometimes looks like the Wild West to many observers. As a result, many organizations ultimately abandon their blogs or altogether avoid them.

Obviously, you wouldn’t be reading this right now if we weren’t fond of the whole blogging experience! Blogging is a great way to bring a business’s team of experts face-to-face with consumers and prospects. (This answers the “who” of the blogging conundrum). For example, one week a bicycle shop’s sales associate might write about the newest line of mountain bikes, while the next week the bicycle technician might post bicycle maintenance tips. This type of information exchange not only helps establish a particular organization as an industry leader, but also promotes employee morale and team building. Generally speaking, people love talking about what they do and sharing it with the world.

Furthermore, a blog is an easy way to generate fresh site content right on the spot. Perez Hilton, the most infamous blogger of all time, built his celebrity news empire by being the first to post up-to-the-minute gossip on a little blog he operates from the comfort of his own apartment. Our bike shop owner might want to announce the impending morning shipment of new Schwinns from her home office the night before they arrive, instead of waiting for the web administrator to update the site for her. She can post new information anytime from anywhere; in her own words.

The focus of each blog post doesn’t have to revolve around specific products or services. Blogging can simply be a conversation about related topics or events. For example, our bike shop owner might decide to blog about the latest local bicycle race or the importance of elementary physical education. This type of blogging enhances the customer brand experience, showing that the shop is not just a place that sells bikes but also a hub for bicycle enthusiasts and their families.

Now for the not-so-fun part: A blog does require some oversight and maintenance. Editing blog material is crucial, as poorly written posts will tarnish an organization’s professional image. Comments also need to be monitored so accurate information is released into the blogosphere. The good news is that blogs can be built to require administrator approval of all comments before they are published for public viewing.

Also, a couple of minutes per week should be spent doing a quick search of the blogosphere to see what other bloggers are saying about a particular product or service. (Google provides a decent blog search engine). Dell learned this the hard way when a couple of years ago an irate customer blogged about his experience with their customer support department. Checking out what others are saying on their blogs allows an organization to quickly respond to criticism or bask in praise.

Finally, blogging is a way to stay ahead of the competition. Even if your biggest competitor is already blogging, you have the opportunity to make yours as unique and up-to-date as you want it to be. It can be fun or serious, tame or controversial, big or small. You call the shots.

Regardless of the industry that you are in, the Internet is where your company needs to be. Some companies, such as 800 CEO READ (8CR), do an excellent job of utilizing the tools available on the Internet to promote their company and product/service. 8CR promotes and sells books related to business that focus on careers, economics, leadership, management, sales & marketing, personal development and more. The unique path that 8CR has taken to enhance their success is by utilizing the Internet to their advantage.

First glance at their website and it appears rather vanilla. Light digging into the website and you will find many tools that 8CR employs to enhance their web presence and the user experience.

• Excerpts Blog – pieces of recently published business books
• Daily Blog – the latest on business book
• Author Blog – current and aspiring business authors
• Podcasts – each month 8CR will pick authors’ brains on the ideas in their books
• Top 25 Books RSS feed – bestsellers of the month
• 8CR Flickr Account – photo stream of events they host
• 8CR You Tube Channel – video of events they host

Utilizing these online tools keeps your audience engaged as well as encourages the repeat site visitors. The 8CR events, the recognition of the company and the brand continue to flourish.

Upkeep is the most important factor when making use of the various online tools. 8CR continues to post to the blogs, Flicker, and YouTube networks often; some daily, some weekly and some monthly.