After Hours Networking
Monday, October 4th, 2010
On September 20, 2010 the Seymour – South Knoxville Chamber of Commerce hosted our first After Hours Networking Event at the Seymour Library. Our guest speaker for the evening was Daniel Monday with Slamdot, Inc. Daniel brought us a very interesting and relevant presentation about social networking and the proper use of a website to promote your business. Our delicious appitizers were prepared by Willie’s Restuarant. Yum!
I wanted to point of just a few key things from Daniel’s presentation. He graciously agreed to share this with us again and is happy to answer any quesions you may still have. You can call 661-8557 and we can put you in touch with him.
TOP 8 GOALS OF A WEBSITE
* Establishes instant credibility
* 24/7 advertising and business hub for your company
* Improved relations with existing customers, better customer service
* Same time and money by reducting call volume for common info and questions.
* Provide timely information to media, customers, vendors and others
* Generate leads and increase walk-in traffic
* Sell online directly if it makes sense for your business
* Learn from your customers
HOW TO MAKE YOUR WEBSITE A MORE EFFECTIVE SELLING TOOL
Do’s and Dont’s
DO have your logo and branding (colors, etc.)
DO have clear and easy navigation.
DO have content targeted to your audience.
DO provide some company history.
DO list services and products.
DO have other customer testimonials.
DO have FAQs.
DO have a contact form – A MUST.
DO have and use social media integration
DO have a built-in blog.
DON”T use a dark background.
DON’T use things that required Flash player.
DON’T copy someone else’s content.
DON’T use frames.
DON’T allow pop-up windows.
DON’T use background music.
DON’T use sitebuilders.
DON’T have broken or dead links.
DON’T have an intro page.
DON’T use scrolling marquees
DON’T have excessive linking
DON’T use ads.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Social media…you do NOT have to be an expert, only people teaching it do!
*Generates more traffic to your website.
* Results in more inbound link.
* Creates an open and interactive communications channel with your customers.
* Establishes credibility amoung users.
* Acts as a great tool for getting out quick updates and promotions.
Just a few social media sites….
- Facebook – just like traditional networking and word-of-mouth, but virtual.
- Twitter – short thoughts and updates.
- LinkedIn – ongoing resume and professional history, good for business to business.
- Flickr – great for photo albums and long-term storage.
- YouTube – online videos
- Digg – great for submitting articles and having people “digg” them.
- Blogging – gets indexed almost immediately and generates backlinks.
Thanks Daniel for all the great info!
We look forward to seeing everyone at our next After Hours Networking. Check our Event Calendar for future dates.
