Internet and business, are they friends or enemies?
First of all, I don’t want to go over every available service on the web, we could be writing a book on the subject. Furthermore, the book would be out-of-date before we had it published.
Knowing the main products is necessary for every business owner to manage their marketing and communications better.
The old way v the new way
In the olden days just a few short years ago we only had a few ways to market our business. One was the dreadfully expensive Yellow Pages that there simply had to be in. Here you paid from just a few grand a month right through to Hundreds of thousands per year. Did it work? Yes because it was the only game in town for consistent inquiries.
Newspapers and magazines gave instant hits as did some local marketing like brochure drops and outbound mail.
All were expensive and the returns often marginal
Internet and business, the new way.
I envy the young, they grow up in the internet age so it is a natural fit. For the older business owner, the transition has been a lot harder, change is never easy.
Online marketing has brought about the demise of paper-based books. The Yellow pages have all but gone and many other media along with them.
Certainly, the WWW is now the master and there to take their dollars and convert them into sales. Unlike other media where costs rise every year the web has got cheaper, faster and more efficient. The advent of competition and new tools has meant that a simple thing like building a web page is no longer a mystery: in fact is something anyone can do.
Google has a lot to answer for, most of it good.
Email back where it started
The email came into popular use around the turn of the century and has grown to be an everyday product. Who could survive without it? We all understand and use email so Let’s move on.
What about Facebook?
This was built as a social forum to connect like-minded people. It then grew to be the most influential media around as they turned it into a Money machine.
As the money focus took control some have turned their backs on social media and its impact.
Recently privacy issues have surfaced that may also drive some to hide from the site, albeit temporarily.
Facebook still remains a dominant product with all its nuances so ignore it at their peril.
What did they do when being attached?
In the case of Facebook, they bought two companies that had the same client profile, Whatsapp and Instagram.
Among the many smaller purchases they made this two stand out.
Instagram has been a huge success for developing businesses and should be in the pocket of any business.
I have seen this product flourish and drive business to a new level. I have a friend who operates her business only on Instagram linking to great success. There is also the immortal story of an Australian girl Kayla Itenes that became a millionaire using Instagram. Ignore this at their peril.
Linked-in for business
What can we say, want details on people in business, want staff, head-hunt, background it’s all here on Linked-in.
Are their on it or in it. there should be if their want to be found.
Other great products
There is a host of communications products on the market and sites for other purposes than business.
You can find them on a simple search but one that will see massive change is messaging.
Messaging on the internet
SMS has principally been a Telecoms product via the mobile networks. It is robust and has stood the test of time.
SMS is now an internet product working from emails on the web making it a more internet product.
It is however still a product of the telephone carriers who control price and access.
That is today but what about tomorrow?
Related Articles
- Is Google a good choice for communication? With the exception of email, Google is not considered a leader in person-to-person communication apps and services. Skype, owned by Microsoft, tops the video calling space. Facebook dominates social media. Slack leads business chat-room messaging. WhatsApp rules mobile messaging. And besides the big platforms from the big companies, hundreds of startups have created appealing and innovative communications apps and services.
Google offers 11 communications apps and services. Alphabetically, these are Allo, Chat, Gmail, Google+, Groups, Hangouts, Inbox, Messenger, Duo, Project Fi and Voice. If their look at the various communication actions there might want to take — voice calls, video calls, email, text messaging and social posting — Google has at least two offerings for each. ( Taken from Computer World)
Unfortunately, Google is also well-known to simply drop a product that is not working so adopt with caution.
I for one find messenger clunky to use but then again I am old. The younger seem to have adopted it as a first choice product.
Google is now about to release a new web-based product called chat. This may change the world as we know it. charging for Chat is not message based but simply comes out of their data allowance so a few bits of data in a message is minimal compared to current pricing.
This has a little way to go yet and will probably be launched as an analogue mobile phone product and a desktop application. Negotiations are still unclear whether Apple will join the band or go their own way, Stay tuned for this one because it may change the world of messaging as we know it.
The Humble Fax machine
Is this an internet product? It sure is now with the old clunker machine relegated to the bin. Sending and receiving faxes on the internet is easier and considerably less expensive than ever before.
There will be no fax machines within a few short years, now that’s an internet change.
YouTube a game changer for business.
Is their tube an internet business tool or kids playground? Have their ever wanted to demonstrate something? Show a product, explain something graphically? Well, To tube is the answer. The ideal business tool.
It is a mass storage device for all types of videos and can be connected to anywhere by anyone at any time.
It sells, it shows it builds businesses so grab this by the handle and use it now.
Conclusion
This handful of products should form the backbone of every business. A multimedia mix of products that will drive consumers through the doors at a price any business can afford.
Peter Hanley
