It's a Jungle Out There!

Internet Marketing Workshop tomorrow morning. Learn how to use internet to get new customers.

Whats new? SCORE-Ventura is gearing up for the the upcoming "double hitter", 2 day workshop focusing on one of the hottest topics in today's small business community - the Internet. Many start-up and existing small business leaders are trying to "wrap their heads around" what to do. Ever feel like the guy in this picture when it comes to internet marketing?. . . .

If so, you are not alone. Everyday, it seems, there's introduction of yet another new tool promising to be the next best thing since sliced bread for growing business. This, in addition to the continually evolving traditional mediums - radio, television and print (even those are expanding advertising services onto the Internet) - with newspaper on-line, radio on-line and numerous on-line T.V. show. So, what is a small business to do?

Well, let's face it. The train is moving with no indication of stopping anytime soon. Check out the stats at this site and please do return for the rest of the story after you've gotten a chance to look at the staggering numbers  http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats2.htm

O.K., you're back! So where were we. Oh yea. . so one might say such statistics are all well and good but they are global numbers and what does that matter to a small local business? I say plenty, not because I claim to be any top authority on the matter,  but because true marketing industry experts are saying it and proving it not only in global marketing results but in local small business communities. Certainly, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Coca-Cola and Burger King would not be spending their corporate dollars on whole divisions dedicated to Social Media Marketing alone if there weren't some measurable gain to realize. I don't think so.

One example of a real-life local company benefiting from a well run Internet marketing campaign is what happened with Ventura, CA based, Rusty's Pizza. One day, just a few months back, this small, local chain of Pizza Restaurants had 63 fans on its facebook page. Now, about 3-4 months later, that number is up to 4,504. This jump means Rusty's get's to talk to a much larger audience and if the message is effective, the company stands to convert many of those new "fans" into loyal customers! How did they do it? They got people to click "like" and click "share" and sign-up on the Rusty's facebook page to get a free pizza. I know because I did it myself and received my personalized coupon a few days later in my "snail mail" mailbox.  Here's how it works. If I "like" something on facebook, my 400 plus friends know I "liked" it and if I "share" information, the reach can be even broader. Then, if the offer or discussion is compelling enough, some of my 400 friends do the same and before you know it, the originator of the valuable information, service or product is well on the way to an expanded listening/viewing audience!

Rusty's kept the process simple for the user, which means the technology and skill behind the scenes had to be sound - i.e. sign-up forms, links, tracking and record keeping so that people who are promised a free pizza actually received one, and with the email "opt-in" approach, the added benefit is the collection of emails and contact information for keeping in-touch with the new found "fans" in the future.

In a previous post, I asked the question. . ."The Internet. . .Who needs it?!" Scroll down the page here a bit to see what Business Owner/SCORE Counselor, Marla Blanchard had to say. . . and stay tuned, we'll be focusing on this subject in the lead-up to the next workshop where SCORE-Ventura presenters will dig even deeper into the discussion.

Hope to see you at the next "double-hitter" workshop on Internet Marketing. For more information and sign-up go to www.ventura.score.org  or call 805-204-6022  or  email: info@scoreventura.org