Brian Duffy

Education•University of Limerick•Glasgow Caledonian University

Work Experience•NEC•Siemens•Microsoft•Enterprise Ireland•Web Design•eCommerce and Internet Marketing

http://ie.linkedin.com/in/ebusinessmatters

Notes Available on www.ebusinessmatters.com

• What People & Businesses Do Online• How Websites and Search Engines Work• How to do Market Research: Getting to know your Customers

& Competitors• How to Setup a Website• How to get the best deal on the right design for your site• How to Manage a Website• Google Analytics• Connecting With Customers (Blogging, Social Media,

Newsletters)• Getting found on search engines (Search Engine Optimization)• Getting Visitors and Maximising Sales

What We’re Going to Cover

What People do on the Web

What People do on the Web

• Socialise & Network• Research Products and Services - and make

buying decisions• Publish whatever is on their minds (blogging)• Learn• Get News and Information• Buy Products• Watch Videos / Listen to Music• Browse and Share News and Media

The Point is…

• Web users are your Customers• Buying decisions are being made online• You pay for ads in newspapers and magazines

because your customers read them• You can advertise to online customers for free • Understanding these technologies means

understanding your customers and helping them to understand you

The Social Web

How do People Socialise Online?

• Community Forums– Boards.ie

• Social Networking– Facebook, Twitter

• Social Media– Blogging– Youtube– Sites that allow you to upload media (videos, images, slides

etc)

• Social Relevancy– People don’t want to look at websites only. People

want to see what other people are saying about companies

• Social Media– People like to consume info in different way. Videos,

Photos etc• Social Networking– It’s good to hang out where your customers / fellow

professionals hang out (facebook, twitter, linkedin)

The Social Web

Community Forums

How Discussion Forums Work

• Some are general (E.g. boards.ie)• Others are specific to a particular niche (E.g. Digital

Point Forum for Internet Marketing)• For every niche there is a forum• People post questions which other members answer.

Each question is the beginning of a new thread• Treads often rank in search results• Signatures each time you post can be used to

promote your website

Community Forums: Boards.ie

• “Boards.ie currently pushes out 45-50 page requests per second and has more than 5,000 users online at peak every day (and growing)”

• Members: Jan 1st 2011 = 407,168

• Most ever online at once = 13,000+

http://blog.boards.ie/

Social Networking

What People Do on Facebook

• Share and Browse through photos• Share interesting / funny videos, music and articles they

come across online• Interact with each other by asking questions & sending

quick informal messages• Create events and groups• Follow businesses/bloggers to receive updates from

them (new articles, special offers, bulletins)

•Businesses can send out news to people who like them

Social Networking: Facebook

• More than 500 million active users• 50% of our active users log on to Facebook in any given day• Average user has 130 friends• People spend over 700 billion minutes per month on

Facebook• More than 30 billion pieces of content (web links, news

stories, blog posts, notes, photo albums, etc.) shared each month.

http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics – Jan 1 2011

Other Social Networking Sites

• Linkedin – Business Networking for Professionals

• Weedle – New Irish Website – Similar to Linkedin

• Twitter – Similar to Facebook but without many of the bells and whistles. Great for getting news quick

• Ning – Allows anyone to create their own social network

Blogging

People who blog

• People like to write about what they are passionate about

• Blogs allow anyone to publish their own content cheaply and easily

• Bloggers like to review products and services and because they are viewed as consumers themselves they are trusted by other consumers

• Bloggers appeal to niche markets and are often ‘thought leaders’ who it pays to make friends with

A Blog about Celebrities

A Blog about Fashion

• People like to voice their opinion (especially from the comfort and anonymity of home)

• Blogging is quick and easy• You get paid to blog– Bloggers get sent free stuff– Businesses advertise on blogs– Bloggers earn affiliate revenue by referring

customers to businesses

Why People Blog

Researching

“Nearly all consumers (97 percent) now use online media when

researching products or services in their local area”

http://www.kelseygroup.com/press/pr100310.asp

How People do Research Online

• Search using Search Engines– Results include blogs, forums, review sites, business sites

• Consumer Review Sites (E.g. Cnet.com, tripadvisor.com)

• Comparison Shopping Sites

• Community Discussion Forums– Great resources for research and marketing

The Research Opportunity

By understanding how people research products and services online you can influence their

decision making at a crucial point in the buying process

Search Engines

• Search Engines are central to how people interact with the web

• People search using Search Engines like Google, Bing and Yahoo!

• Users enter keywords (a.k.a “search phrases”) that they feel will give them the best chance of finding what they are looking for

• Google has Search Engines specific to every country. google.com, google.ie, google.co.uk

• Lots more on How Search Engines Work in the next lesson

Business Search

Product / Service Comparisons

Product / Service Review Sites

Product / Service Review Sites

Buying

How People Buy Online

• Classified Ad Sites (Gumtree, donedeal.ie, craigslist)

• Brokerage Sites (ebay, etsy, cafepress, boardsdeals, Amazon)

• Shopping cart powered websites (i.e websites that allow the owner to list items and accept payments)

Amazon

• In 1995, Amazon.com sold its first book, which shipped from Jeff Bezos' garage in Seattle.

• On its peak day for last year, (November 29 2010), customers ordered more than 13.7 million items worldwide across all product categories on Amazon. …which translates to a record-breaking 158 items per second.

• Learn how Amazon works (and how you can make money with them)at http://money.howstuffworks.com/amazon.htm/printable

Other Online Buying Mechanisms

• Phone • Email• Online bookings / reservations• Simple Shopping Carts (i.e click ‘buy now’ and

pay)

What Businesses do on the Web

• Drive traffic to a great website that sells effectively– Search Engine Optimization, PPC, Social Media, Blogging

• Create an “organisational voice” that delivers value to customers– Blogs, Twitter, Facebook, Newsletter

• Reputation Management– Who’s talking about you on review sites, blogs &

discussion forums• Understand where your customers come from and

how they behave using Analytics

The ebusiness Strategy

Drive Traffic

A Website that SellsEffectively

Deliver ValueTo New & Existing

CustomersReputation Management

Analytics andCustomer Experience

Improvements

The ebusiness Cycle

Business Networking

• The Internet makes it easy connect with other businesses and professionals

• Post on other peoples blogs or build relationships to increase referrals

• Affiliate Programs encourage referrals• LinkedIn has over 85 million members in over

200 countries.• Similar Sites to linkedin: Weedle, ecadamy.com,

Build Customer Relationships

• The Internet makes it easy to build customer relationships.

• Interact with Bloggers directly or write comments on their articles

• Get involved on community forums• Connect and interact with customers on Social

Networking Sites• Keep customers informed through blogging and

newsletters

Online Business Models

• Basic Model: Promoting a Business *• Merchant Model *• The Mailing List *• Blogging *• The Subscription (a.k.a the Membership) Model *• Community Model *• The Affiliate Model *• Advertising *• Manufacturer (a.k.a the Direct) Model• Utility Model• Brokerages

* Indicates applicable to SME owner

Basic Model: Promoting a Business

Basic Model: Objective

Attract Visitor to Site

Encourage Visitor to Call

Sales team / Member of

StaffConfirm Sale

Promote another offer

A Standard Brochure Website

The Cost of a Brochure Site

• Domain + Hosting (Estimated Cost: USD$60 per year)

• A Content Management System that allows you to manage your pages and content (Free)

• A Suitable Web Design (Estimated Cost: $50)• A Graphic Designer to “touch up” the Web

Design (Estimated Cost: $120)• Total Estimated Cost: USD$230

The Cost of other Types of Sites

By using WordPress to Manage Your Sites Content you can extend the functionality of the CMS for little or no extra cost which allows you to include:

– A Shopping Cart / Online Store– A Membership Site– An Auction Site– A Directory / Classified Ad Site– A Community Forum

Merchant Model

Create a Professional

Image

Get Qualified Visitors

List Products Promote Each Product

Make a Sale & Accept

Payment

Make Repeat Sales

Merchant Model: Objective

Merchant Model Basics

• Special Shopping Cart Software Required– Magento

• Lots of options to accept payments• Coupons / Tiered Pricing• Powerful but not user friendly (i.e. difficult for the

inexperienced web master)

– WordPress• Shopping Cart Plugins Available (Free vs. Paid)• User-friendly (Recommended)

• Payment Gateways Required– Paypal vs. Merchant Account

Business Blogging

Blogging Adds Value to Your Site

Benefits of Business Blogging

• A blog can (and will) drive more visitors to your site• Establish yourself as an expert in your area (raise

your profile and earn points with customers and other professionals)

• By delivering customers news and useful info you are growing your brand and staying fresh in the customers mind.

• You can grow a list of interested subscribers• Add additional revenue to your site (paid reviews,

advertising, affiliate revenue)

http://mashable.com/2010/06/04/look-whos-blogging-stats/

http://philbradley.typepad.com/phil_bradleys_weblog/2010/03/great-blog-statistics.html

• By 2009 there were 133,000,000 blogs – indexed by Technorati

• 72% of those who are self-employed and blogging are interested in attracting new clients.

• 56% say that their blog has helped their company establish a positioning as a thought leader within the industry according to Universal McCann.

• 58% say that they are better-known in their industry because of their blog

The Subscription Model

The Community Model

Community Model

• Bulletin board Software– PhpBB vs. BBPress– Can be added to a WordPress CMS for free– Easy to Setup and Administer

• Specialized Social Networking Site– Ning.com allows you to create your own Social

Network• Facebook and Twitter can easily be integrated

into a WordPress site

The Advertising Model

Advertising Model

• Anyone can sell advertising space on their site / blog / mailing list

• Automated (adsense) vs. Manual (Selling Ad Space)

• Enabling Classified Ads, a Jobs Board or a Directory is also easy with WordPress

The Affiliate Model

Affiliate Model

• Incentivise People to Refer you Customers• Setup Your Own Affiliate Program or use an

Affiliate Company like Clickbank• Works both ways: You can use your Blog or

Mailing List to make money referring customers to others OR You can encourage other affiliate marketers to promote your product or service

• Affiliate Programme Examples: Amazon, ebusinessmatters.com

Which Models are Right for Your Business?

What Model is Right for You?

• Mix and Match Models to suit your business• Recommended Models: Blogging and Mailing Lists.

Affiliate Programs are also great when you are accepting payments online (i.e. merchant and subscription models)

• What do you want from the Web?- Find new customers (or help them find you)- Build a Brand / Make a name for yourself- Make more repeat sales - Improve your overall service

• Full Notes + Questionnaire based on this lesson on ebusinessmatters.com

• What is the goal of your website?• What are the top 5 reasons people buy your

product or service?• What are the top 5 objection/barriers that may

prevent people buying your product or service?• Which of the business models described in this

article do you think would benefit your business

Questionnaire

Next Lesson:

• How Websites Work• Domains and Hosting• What is a Content Management System• How Google Works• Analysis of Search Results• Getting found on Google (Overview)