September 28th, 2009 Newsletter

Well, it is beginning to feel a bit like fall outside. The leaves are turning and the mornings are getting crisp.

This newsletter is the result of a client meeting that I had last week with a new client - Cary from Sounds Unlimited. More and more of our clients are starting to ask about Social Networking and the benefits for their business. I have mentioned the use of Social Networking to help drive traffic to your website in previous newsletters but I realize that many of you need more information on this subject.

So, here it goes:

Should You Use Social Media to Promote Your Site?

I recently watched a YouTube video titled Did You Know 4.0. The premise behind the video is related to the use of technology in education, but at one point in the video there is a reference to US (sorry for the American reference) campaign fundraising in the last presidential election. It states that:

"In February 2008, John McCain raised $11 million for his U.S. presidential bid by attending fundraisers. That same month, Barack Obama attended no fundraisers. He chose instead to leverage online social networks and raised $55 million in the same 29 days."

I couldn't believe these numbers and actually had to check the sources that they cited at the end of the presentation (both numbers were taken from the reported campaign documents). But what does that mean "leveraged online social networks"? Well, what it means is that he used his friends and people who are interested in what he is doing to help generate donations for his campaign. We do this all the time with people that we know. Looking for a new driver, the first thing that I do is talk to my golfing buddies to find out what they are using and where they got it. Need a landscaper to do some work on your yard. Many of you will start by asking around to see if your friends know anyone good. Well, the idea behind social networking is to give your friends the information about your business so that when somebody asks them if they know somebody who does what you do, they give them your information. There are a number of things about social networking that you need to know:

1. It's free! - There are not many types of advertising today that can say that, but the only investment that you have to make in marketing via social networking is the investment of time. Posting information to Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter can be done very quickly and let's people know what is going on at your business.
2. You are advertising to people who are interested - The people who are following your Twitter updates or have accepted your friend invitations are all people who are interested in what you have going on (either personally or professionally). So, now rather than putting time and money into advertising that goes to a large number of people who are not interested in what you are doing, you are dedicated time to people who are.
3. Social networking updates help keep your site fresh - The updates that you make to social media sites can also be posted on your website to help keep the content fresh and up-to-date. Regular content updates help keep people coming back to check out your website (and this maintains interest in what you are doing).
4. Showcase the unique things that your business has to offer - Most of the things that your business does are listed on your website already. But what about those things that you occasionally do for a client that put you above your competition? How do you let people know that you are ready and willing to work with them to provide a truly unique experience? You talk about these instances in your social network.
5. Targeted marketing - Social media allows you to target specific sales to specific clients. For example, Westjet is currently using Twitter to promote many of their flight destinations. If you follow them on Twitter, you will be notified of discount codes that can be used at the time of purchase to help you save money. All of this simply for following what they are posting to Twitter (which helps encourage brand recognition and loyalty to their brand)!
6. Reach larger audiences - All forms of advertising have their limitations, but by using a combination of different forms you increase the chances that your marketing reaches the most people possible. In the past 2 weeks I have received inquiries from India, the U.S. (California), and Northern Alberta. Two of these inquiries were the direct result of articles that I have posted within my site that talk about very specific projects that were of interest to these prospective clients.

So, how do you get started? Check out Facebook and create a business page, create a LinkedIn, and a Twitter account and start building your business networks. Once you have some people that you are connected to, start telling them what makes your business so great.

We hope this mailing was helpful. If you found it useful, forward it to a friend. If you didn't, drop us a note and let us know how we can better answer your questions and meet your needs by using our contact form.

Jeff Meadows

Director

G4 Ventures Ltd.

http://www.g4v.com

August 24th, 2009 Newsletter

Well it seems that we are finally starting to get some nice warm summer weather and it is time for the kids to head back to school.

This newsletter will touch on the following topics:

• Website Updates - Updated Live Support Chat
• New Tutorials
• Website Promotion Tips - Part IV
• Client Spotlight

Website Updates

In our continuing effort to provide the best client experience possible, we have modified our Live Support Chat feature on our website. Now you can access our Live Support Chat from any page within our website simply by using our floating Live Support Chat window (located in the top left-hand corner of the site).

For more information on using our Live Support Chat feature, check out this Tutorial.

New Support Tutorials

We are constantly adding to our FAQ section as we receive questions from our clients. The latest two additions are:

• Where do I find extensions to enhance my Joomla site?
• Using our Live Support Chat feature

Website Promotion Tips

This is part IV of our installments on how to prmote your website and increase traffic. If you haven't received all of the versions of our newsletter, you can check back and see the ones that you have missed by clicking here. Now assuming that you have been following all of the suggestions in our previous newsletters, your website should be starting to get more traffic. But how do you know if more people are visiting your website? How do you fiind out what people are searching for when they do find your website and how do you know what they are looking at (and what they are not) while they are there? This is where website traffic tools come in.

There are several tools out there that will help you to track your site traffic as well as analyze that traffic and see how people are getting to yor website and what people are looking at while they are on your website. The first tool is checking out the website statistics that we provide with all of our hosting packages. Your website traffic is analyzed daily and the results posted to a secure area that only you can access. We have a tutorial in our FAQ section that shows you how to access your site statistics.

Now, if you want to take your website traffic analysis even further, there are other more advanced tools that are offered to do just that. Some of you may have heard of Google Analytics. This is a website traffic analysis tool that is offered by Google. You can get more information here:

• http://www.google.com/analytics/

Another service that offers amazing live site traffic analysis features is Woopra. Woopra offers a real-time website tracking and analysis tool that we use on our site to track our visitors. It helps us to optimize our meta tags and descriptions (based on how people are finding our site), see what people are looking at and even where in the world they are coming from. You can find more information on Woopra here:

• http://www.woopra.com

For assistance in integrating either of these analysis tools into your website, contact us and we can get you up and running quickly.

Client Spotlight

From time to time we like to spotlight one of our clients websites. We hope that you take a few minutes out of your busy day to check out not only the services that they offer, but also their website features and design (you may get ideas that you would like to use on your website).

In this newsletter we would like to spotlight one of our oldest clients - Energy Smart Canada. They are a local business that specializes in energy efficient building products and services ranging from tankless hot water heaters to high efficiency hot tubs. If you are looking to build a new home or renovate your current home, chances are they have products and knowledge that will save you money on your gas and electric bills.

We hope this mailing was helpful. If you found it useful, forward it to a friend. If you didn't, drop us a note and let us know how we can better answer your questions and meet your needs by using our contact form.

Jeff Meadows

Director

G4 Ventures Ltd.

http://www.g4v.com

Hopefully you are all enjoying the summer sunshine that we are finally starting to receive!

This newsletter will touch on the following topics:

• Website Updates
• Website Promotion Tips - Part III

Website Updates

We have been continually working on enhancing the features of our website - not only to better promote the services that we offer, but to support you better. If you haven't checked it out lately, it may be worth a look. Here are some of the recent changes that we have made:

• We are now posting updates to several Social Networking locations like Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.
• We have begun posting our newsletters in HTML format to our website as well, so if you missed an issue or want to go back and re-read a newsletter, you can find them here.
• We have a Live Support Chat feature that allows you to chat with one of our support people - when you need help.
• If you have a question or problem that isn't an emergency, we have a Support Ticket System that ensures that your issue is dealt with in a timely manner.
• We are constantly expanding our FAQ Section to help answer some of the common questions that our clients have.

Website Promotion Tips

Here are some websites that will provide you some information to help you write good Keyword lists and Descriptions for your content:

• http://www.linkplug.com/blog/2009/03/15/writing-effective-website-description/
• http://www.stir.ca/webtips/writing_meta_data.html
• http://blogkori.com/how-to-write-an-effective-blog-description-and-keywords

We hope this mailing was helpful. If you found it useful, forward it to a friend. If you didn't, drop us a note and let us know how we can better answer your questions and meet your needs by using our contact form.

Jeff Meadows

Director

G4 Ventures Ltd.

http://www.g4v.com

June 29th, 2009 Newsletter

This newsletter will touch on the following topics:

• New Tutorials - Accessing your website statistics
• New Services - Adobe Connect Pro & Content Editing
• Website Promotion Tips - Part II

New Tutorial - Accessing Your Webmail & Configuring your email client

We have been hard at work adding tutorials to our website to help answer some of the questions that we get from our clients. As we are able to, we are adding these tutorials to our FAQ area. Our newest tutorial shows you how to access your website statistics:

• Accessing your website statistics

New Services - Adobe Connect Pro & Content Editing

In our continuing efforts to create a truly on-stop experience for our customers we have expanded the services that we offer even further. Many of our customers who are using Moodle to delivery online educational & training material are also looking for virtual synchronous meeting space to conduct their training. Through our partnership with Envisiontel, we are able to offer Adobe Connect Pro. Adobe Connect Pro is one of the premier web conferencing systems available today. Built on Adobe's Flash platform it offers exceptional audio/video quality along with industry standard features like shared whiteboards, break-out rooms, polling, screen & application sharing and more. It can also be coupled with our audio conferencing service to provide a seamless meeting experience. Contact us today to arrange a no-hassle tour or to get more information.

We have also received a number of requests in the past few months for content editing services. You asked for it and we added it. We have contracted the services of an excellent content editor (at least we think a PhD in English and 8 years of editing experience qualifies as excellent) to assist our clients. Whether it is your website content or your marketing and advertising material, we can ensure that your content says what you want it to say - consistently and clearly. Contact us today to find out how we can help.

Website Promotion Tips

Our last newsletter touched on the fact that in order to attract website traffic, you need to have quality content to begin with. You then need to ensure that search engines can find your website by having a sitemap and by submitting your site to be indexed. But what else can you do to try to drive traffic to your website? Here are a number of things that will help get the word out about your website:

1.  Make sure that your traditional marketing material has your website URL on it. Hard as it is to believe, some people forget to include their URL in places that they are already trying to use to attract business. Posters, flyers, business cards, email signatures should all have your URL clearly positioned to invite people to check out your online presence. It is even better if you can give people a reason to check out your website. By offering coupons or special offers that are only available on your website, you can encourage people to check you out online.
2. Use the tools. Social Networking sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, MySpace, all allow you to create a company space that you can use to access potential clients in a new way. By utilizing these types of tools, you can leverage the people you know (and who know you) to help promote your business. What better way to get a referral than through a personal friend who can vouch for your character and the services or work that you provide. Many of these sites also offer very reasonably priced advertising systems that allow you to direct your online advertising to the people most likely to be interested in your products and services.

We hope this mailing was helpful. If you found it useful, forward it to a friend. If you didn't, drop us a note and let us know how we can better answer your questions and meet your needs by using our contact form.

Jeff Meadows

Director

G4 Ventures Ltd.

http://www.g4v.com