Beacon Technologies’ close relationship with Google often grants us access to many of their education initiatives like the live Google AgencyLand webinars which are open to qualified Adwords companies and their clients. We recently attended one of these team trainings entitled “Five Rules of Consumer Engagement,” taught by Google’s Jim Lecinski and inspired by research conducted amongst Google customers in the Fortune 100. Lecinski asked the group an essential question to set the stage and because his answer will help many of Beacon’s customers, I feel it’s worth sharing. Q: How do you know when your company is ready to tackle the next phase of online engagement?

If you’re like most marketing directors, you’re feeling immense pressure to experiment with whatever hot social media tool everyone is talking about these days whether it’s Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, or bebo. And although it’s true your brand shouldn’t fall victim to a trend; before you encourage customers to form an online community geared towards self-expression and entertainment, be sure you’ve mastered the first two phases – Digital Brochureware and Online Sales Channel.

In the mid-90s, companies mostly used their website as a place where potential customers could get more information, almost like an online brochure that made it easier for visitors to know what you have and what you do without having to hunt down a sales representative.

The next iteration of the web happened when companies started enabling their sites with eCommerce functionality, which was the next logical step; they now see what you have, let them buy something from you. A handful of brands led the way like Amazon and eBay and revolutionized online shopping; while others cling to their brick-and-mortar only strategy and have yet to develop an online sales channel. Perhaps their hesitation is due to regulatory reasons, but often it’s the hefty price tag of the necessary software to do it right that many shy away from, which is why Beacon recommends using BeCommerce.NET, our branded version of the AspDotNetStorefront for an eCommerce solution. Completely search engine friendly, BeCommerce.NET provides all the latest features, bells and whistles and integrates nicely with third party software like accounting systems, inventory control systems and in-site search. Depending on the cost of your products and/or services just a few online sales can justify your investment into this type of long term technology.

Lecinski recommends that companies only enter the third phase with social media sites, an initiative he dubbed “Creating a Community for Self-expression and Entertainment,” after they’ve focused on their financial goals first by offering the ease of doing business on the Web. Because no matter how exciting it is to have diverse groups of people engage with your brand and insert it into their daily fodder, you want and/or need to sell something, right?

According to a recent Luxury Vehicle study conducted by Google, customer conversion on the Web was 23 percent more likely if the dealer targeted clientele with pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, i.e. paid placement on search but also utilized the power of boosting organic rankings. I have yet to hear of a Twitter campaign that resulted in that type of sales increase, although any online marketing tactic from email blasts to links into your site from Facebook can be tracked if your site is properly configured for Google Analytics. The lesson here is not to be blinded by the hype so that you replace your paid online advertising budget in your marketing plan with monies for social media efforts. Just have all your “fishing lures” working together and then use Google Analytics to gauge your plan’s total effectiveness based on online conversions, sales and in the case of some of our SEM clients, more foot traffic into stores.

And once you start thinking across sales channels, i.e. using the Web to drive traffic into stores and/or tracking traditional marketing success via vanity URLs, you enter into a league with best-in-class retailers who can access a single view of all customer data whether it comes from eCommerce, stores or call centers – everything is integrated in one database. Having this high level view paints a truer picture of brand engagement which will allow your company the opportunity to segment your multiple channel customers which are often your most valuable consumer group.

So don’t settle for tweets and chatter only, follow steps 1-2-3, focus on the right business decisions first and you’ll reap the financial rewards – contact Beacon to find out more about BeCommerce.NET, Google Analytics, email marketing campaigns and PPC.

Once again, Beacon Technologies is proud to support the Greensboro Grasshoppers, our hometown minor league baseball team. We’re honored to be the Grasshoppers’ web developer and Google Analytics consultant. That’s why at NewBridge Bank Park this summer, you’ll find Beacon cheering from Grandstand Box #23 and on the JumboTron after every ‘Hopper homer during the “Beacon Blast” fireworks display.

Clients often tell us that after working with our software engineers, web marketing consultants, designers and developers, their web worries were going, going, gone — which got us thinking. If business owners hire us to increase their website’s ROI and we knock it out of the park every time, bringing new customers to the plate; our RBI (run batted in) must be through the roof.

So it’s in the spirit of good, clean fun that Beacon presents our personal “at bat song snippets” to get the crowd revved up. (We’re installing intercom speakers in our office now as you’re reading this.) Enjoy and Go Hoppers!

1.    Mark Dirks, CEO, “Thunderstruck” by AC/DC
2.    John Scaramuzzo, vice president, “Enter Sandman” by Metallica
3.    Tracy Dirks, director of web development, “Let’s Make It” by AC/DC
4.    Brad Henry, manager of web marketing services, “Head Like A Hole” by Nine Inch Nails
5.    Cherryl Gilmore, sr. project manager, “Don’t Stop Believing” by Journey
6.    Patrick Flanagan, sr. account executive, “Baba O’Riley (It’s Only Teenage Wasteland)” by The Who
7.    Gary Synan, sr. software developer, “Centerfield (Put Me In Coach)” by John Fogerty
8.    James Cooley, search marketing analyst, “Lord Leopard” by Caribou
9.    Louisa Nicholson, web designer, “Eye of the Tiger” by Survivor
10.    William Nichols, systems administrator, “Don’t Cha” by The Pussycat Dolls
11.    Wendy Honeycutt, graphic designer, “Firestarter” by the Prodigy
12.    John Wallwork, sr. systems engineer, “Flirt’n with Disaster” by Molly Hatchett
13.    Rhonda Bliss, SEM Consultant, “Bodies (Let the Bodies Hit the Floor)” by  Drowning Pool
14.    Annette Fowler, sr. project manager, “She’s a Lady” by Tom Jones
15.    Jeff Pickle, SEM Consultant, “Time To Play The Game” by Motörhead
16.    Justin Klingman, manager of web design & content management, “Walking on Sunshine” by Katrina & The Waves
17.    Dan Ma, sr. software developer, “Who Can It Be Now” by Men at Work
18.    Jessica Knight, account executive, “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” by Pat Benatar
19.    Wayne Van Zandt, sr. systems administrator, “Zip-A-Dee-Do-Dah” by James Baskett
20.    Mike Wood, sr. systems engineer, “Shook Me All Night Long” by AC/DC
21.    MaiLy Promislow, web designer, “We Are The Champions” by Queen

*Beacon is not responsible for any injuries caused while doing the wave at your desk. If your company could stand a few hits vs. strike outs, give us a call today.

Before I meet a new prospect, I go out to their Web site and mouse through the releases and various news tidbits tucked away in their online press room. I guess my ten years spent in public relations has made me biased towards the importance of a well-stocked press room on a company’s public Web site, but honestly every single press release you throw up there, if written correctly, can become a potential Web page. Just think of them as little visitor magnets that improve search engine visibility for free. (Psst…I’m not even supposed to be telling you this.)

Unlike top tier pages where white space and limited text is preferred from an aesthetic standpoint, a press release can be chock-full of meaty keywords and optimized phrases sure to catch the attention of the major search engine bots (or spider) scanning the web for awesome, authoritative content. The key is in the number, and quality, of inbound and outbound hyperlinks.

An inbound link shoots the reader to another page within your site for more info about something, for example, if you quote your company’s CEO in a release you can send the reader to his/her bio page in your About Us section. You can do this by simply highlighting his/her name, clicking on Hyperlink under Insert in the toolbar and entering in the URL for that bio page.

An outbound hyperlink, or hotlink does just the opposite; it opens up a new window and sends the reader to another site for more info. Both are important to use, but don’t go crazy, a good rule of thumb is one link per 100 words. Look at this good example from the Beacon press room, that uses two inbound links and one outbound, or even just within this blog post. Just remember if you use an outbound link to periodically check that page to see if it’s still active to avoid publishing a broken link. (Depending on what type of content management system you have, it can check them for you.)

But even with all the buzz about social media out there, less than one percent of the thousands of press releases posted each week by Business Wire include hyperlinks according to a 2007 study by Business Wire’s social media platform group EON (Enhanced Online News.)

Don’t leave all that potential “Google juice” out of your next press release, especially when your company is feeling the squeeze of the economy. Ask Beacon Technologies for more ways to juice up your Web site.