There are 5 most important lessons I think will be main concern in next decade businesses;
1. Content management system (CMS) websites are taking over the web development world. If you're an AZtec client, you've heard my sales pitch about why your CMS website is better than the "old-fashioned" static websites that are built with HTML editing tools.
The main reasons are you can edit your own websites, they're fairly inexpensive, and they're more secure than other types of websites. If you're using a CMS website you're ahead of the game.
2. The way you market your business is changing. I hope you're not investing a ton of money in phone book advertising. The 3,000-page, 5-lb. doorstops that we all grew up with are going away. Phone books, newspapers, and hard-copy direct marketing materials are practically dinosaurs, and they're clinging to the edge of the extinction cliff with strained fingernails. If you haven't positioned your business for online marketing, consider it now, or you could fall behind those in your industry who have.
3. Social networking is more than "tweets." You've probably heard the saying about going to hardware store and buying a drill bit because you need a hole, not a drill bit. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and other social networking sites are the drill bits; the need for people to communicate with each other (social networking) is the hole.Social networking websites empower us with the ability to communicate with people all over the world now. When the printing press was invented, all of a sudden people didn't have to rely on those in authority to provide knowledge. Newspapers and books hit the streets, allowing people to educate themselves about current events, the Bible, and more.
Now, we don't even need the printing press. We're writing our own books and articles in a virtual environment and posting them online for the world to see immediately (and we're including our videos, photos, etc). It's simply amazing.
Who knows how long Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn will be around (remember MySpace?), but social networking is here to stay and will continue to change our lives and our world. Embrace it.
4. It's time to consider multimedia for your website and your products. A few weeks ago, Hamilton Wallace, a successful a small business marketing consultant, helped me create a video for my website. I did this for two reasons: I thought it would help me communicate my business message more effectively, and I know I need to use multimedia tools. People expect it now.
Believe me, I wasn't thrilled about the idea, but I knew it was necessary. Videos, podcasts, e-books, etc. are contemporary media, and used correctly, they can be effective tools for online communication.
5. Now is the time to make courageous decisions about the future of your business. Look around. What are your competitors doing? What can you do reach more customers? How are you communicating your message? What makes you different than the next guy? Modern technology has blessed us with so many options available for marketing and communication that it's difficult to keep up with everything, let alone make a decision on the direction you need to take for your company.
I'm in the same boat. If I have an "advantage," it's because I'm plugged into it every day. I can't keep up either, but I do the best I can for my company and yours.
Some things you can do now include:
* Starting a Facebook or Twitter account for your business
* Beginning a direct marketing newsletter program
* Writing an e-book or posting online articles
* Creating a video or podcast
source; aztec
1. Content management system (CMS) websites are taking over the web development world. If you're an AZtec client, you've heard my sales pitch about why your CMS website is better than the "old-fashioned" static websites that are built with HTML editing tools.
The main reasons are you can edit your own websites, they're fairly inexpensive, and they're more secure than other types of websites. If you're using a CMS website you're ahead of the game.
2. The way you market your business is changing. I hope you're not investing a ton of money in phone book advertising. The 3,000-page, 5-lb. doorstops that we all grew up with are going away. Phone books, newspapers, and hard-copy direct marketing materials are practically dinosaurs, and they're clinging to the edge of the extinction cliff with strained fingernails. If you haven't positioned your business for online marketing, consider it now, or you could fall behind those in your industry who have.
3. Social networking is more than "tweets." You've probably heard the saying about going to hardware store and buying a drill bit because you need a hole, not a drill bit. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and other social networking sites are the drill bits; the need for people to communicate with each other (social networking) is the hole.Social networking websites empower us with the ability to communicate with people all over the world now. When the printing press was invented, all of a sudden people didn't have to rely on those in authority to provide knowledge. Newspapers and books hit the streets, allowing people to educate themselves about current events, the Bible, and more.
Now, we don't even need the printing press. We're writing our own books and articles in a virtual environment and posting them online for the world to see immediately (and we're including our videos, photos, etc). It's simply amazing.
Who knows how long Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn will be around (remember MySpace?), but social networking is here to stay and will continue to change our lives and our world. Embrace it.
4. It's time to consider multimedia for your website and your products. A few weeks ago, Hamilton Wallace, a successful a small business marketing consultant, helped me create a video for my website. I did this for two reasons: I thought it would help me communicate my business message more effectively, and I know I need to use multimedia tools. People expect it now.
Believe me, I wasn't thrilled about the idea, but I knew it was necessary. Videos, podcasts, e-books, etc. are contemporary media, and used correctly, they can be effective tools for online communication.
5. Now is the time to make courageous decisions about the future of your business. Look around. What are your competitors doing? What can you do reach more customers? How are you communicating your message? What makes you different than the next guy? Modern technology has blessed us with so many options available for marketing and communication that it's difficult to keep up with everything, let alone make a decision on the direction you need to take for your company.
I'm in the same boat. If I have an "advantage," it's because I'm plugged into it every day. I can't keep up either, but I do the best I can for my company and yours.
Some things you can do now include:
* Starting a Facebook or Twitter account for your business
* Beginning a direct marketing newsletter program
* Writing an e-book or posting online articles
* Creating a video or podcast
source; aztec
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