I saw an interactive map that the BBC has on how the internet has grown from 1998 to 2008…

That alone should convince anyone that they need to have an online presence!

One thing that can be tough in increasing your online presence is you may be tempted to try Google Ads or some other online ad thingy. The problem is that some can be a bit pricey and you have little control over what area they appear. Coupons have always been a value and in these tough times more people then ever are getting out the scissors and trying to save a buck. If I own a restaurant in Pleasant Hill, having someone click through to print my coupon in Vermont probably won’t help! It is good to have a web site but spending money to have some one see what you do in Alaska may or may not be part of your plan.

Well, a new company, LocalAdLink has an answer that not only makes it affordable to be on line but lets YOU control what happens. You get to choose what zip codes see your ads, you can add and change your coupon offering and you get to see how many people are looking at your stuff and more.

Why does this matter so much? Well, for one thing if you do not have a website yet, this gets you on the web for a very low cost. If you are using something like wix.com to create a web presence this helps to push your Google visibility with out the hassle of Search Engine Optimization, Adwords and other non English techonese that are hard for any but the Most-High-Geek to understand. By the way, techonese is that language that the tech people speak that makes our eye’s glaze over!

The Chamber considers this to be such a great idea that we have entered into a business alliance with LocalAdLink and Jim Young of CompuSolutions. What to do next? Call them at 415-990-6874 or 925-372-5954 to get started.

One of the many reasons to get into Social Media/Web 2.0/all-that-crap-you-keep-sending-me is that it can start to raise your awareness of what is going on in the community AND the communities awareness of you! That is the point of any marketing program is to be noticed above the noise.

You have gotten a thousand emails about joining LinkedIn, Plaxo, Ning, etc, and have no idea what to do with all this stuff and don’t see the relevance to your business much less how this will get you noticed. Maybe I can help clear some of that up.

LinkedIn is more of a professional networking environment that seems to favor HR folks, recruiters and people that are looking for jobs. And while it may not seems related to what you do, having a full profile will help raise your Google ranking if nothing else. It would be VERY relevant to those that are looking to get in front of the HR and training folks at some companies. It can also be a way to find out who you need to know get you in the door where you want to do business. An example might be that if you wanted to talk to Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks and all around gazilionaire, about buying some shirts that you are selling and just emailed him or called him up you would more than likely get to deal with about 47 gatekeepers before you ever had a chance. Or, through linked in and a little homework, you find out who you know that could introduce you to his brother. Then the brother can intro you to Mark. I use this example because I know some one that did this through LinkedIn. We have a discussion group on my profile.

Ning seems to be an easier to use version of Facebook with a calendar and photo show capability right on the site. I think this can be a great place for anyone that joins to get an idea and share it with all the other members of the group. Still experimenting with this so let me know what you think. By the way, Ning is a great place to start blogging. They have a feature where anyone in the phchamber group can blog to their hearts content. Give it a try.

Plaxo I am not doing much with right now. It can get you a lot of birthday stuff but not sure what else. Somebody gets something out of it so maybe you can tell me what it is.

There is Facebook which Jason Wheeler swears by and has gotten business from. It seems to be a mix of personal and business so may not be right for everyone. I do think that it has its place and I have actually found or been found people that I have not seen nor heard from in years. Think of it as another network.

Earlier I talked about blogging and some folks think they have nothing to write about. You will need to develop something. And you need to write. Your style will develop as you write. If you want your own blog you start with Posterous. It’s VERY easy to use and set up and with in minutes you will be blogging. And it has some really neat features like you upload pictures and stuff so check it out and start blogging!

All of this fine but these tools can be used for creating powerful change. Just check out this article about how a community of laid-off workers not only where able find jobs but also where able to attract the kind of government attention we like as opposed to that call from the IRS!

So, if some laid off sign workers can get the business community to take notice and help with the local economy, you can use some of these tools to better your business. But first, you have to make the effort!