CPX Interactive Owner Mike Seiman Talks About Web Advertising for SMBs

(Long Island, N.Y.) Are you thinking about Web advertising but not sure where to invest your dollars? The Web is such a widespread medium, how can you think globally while attracting local customers?

Mike Seiman, CEO and founder of Westbury-based CPX Interactive, launched the earliest incarnation of his full-service Internet advertising network while he was still a freshman at Hofstra University. By 2001, with a B.S. in Computer Science, he created BUDS Inc., the parent company of CPX.

Today, CPX provides Internet advertising services to Fortune 500 companies in the tri-state area and across the world. The company placed #71 on Inc. Magazine’s list of the 5,000 fastest growing private companies in America. Seiman recently shared some tips for Long Island SMBs (small and medium-size businesses) looking to advertise online.

Tell us about CPX Interactive. Why do business owners come to CPX?

Mike Seiman: We’re an intermediary between advertisers and Internet publishers. We provide the technology and the service between both sides. We close the deal and have the technology to optimize and run the advertising campaign across the networks we work with.

How has the industry changed since you started the company?

Mike Seiman: It’s expanded a lot. There’s a lot more diversification. You have hundreds of thousands of websites, you have a lot more targeting capabilities, and people are interested in data and measuring the types of users. It’s gotten more intricate, more ROI-focused, and a lot more targeted. In the beginning, it was just: “Okay, let’s place an ad and see what happens.”

What is a company’s best means for tracking results today?

Mike Seiman: If you’re talking about a small-to-medium size local business, from a pizza place to a family shop in a local area, it’s really about utilizing local advertising and targeting down to your closest radial area. If you’re a Fortune 500 company or a large organization, it’s about thinking about your product line and the customers it appeals to, and the best ways to hit that consumer, using demographic data.

What tips do you have for Long Island SMBs looking at placing Internet advertising?

Mike Seiman: If you’re a small business, don’t over-think it. Don’t think about your demographic, your target audience. When you’re looking at local advertising, you need to keep your population as broad as possible. There are only a given number of Internet users online at any given time within a certain zip code or mile radius. To break it down into smaller demographics, you’re pushing your audience down to maybe 1,000 Internet users a day, which isn’t effective. Don’t over-think it, just hit as many people in your local radius as possible.

Anything else?

Mike Seiman: Keep the message simple. Simple advertising is most effective on the Internet right now. If you’re reaching someone in your local area, say something like, “Shoe sale in Westbury, Shop now!” Something simple, easy to read, and to the point to invite people to come to your store.

Also, make sure you’re working with a company that’s capable of providing the service levels you want, or at least that you know you’re getting what you’re paying for–you’re hitting the local area you need to and you’re paying the rates that are competitive.

Does Internet advertising make sense for local (brick-and-mortar only) companies?

Mike Seiman: I think we’re starting to move into that area as an industry. I think you’re going to see a major shift over the next few years. People are going to see advertising dollars moving from their Pennysaver and their local newspaper and going online. Businesses are finding efficient ways to buy Internet advertising cheaply. You can spend $50 – $100 a month to see if it works.

That’s not expensive at all…

Mike Seiman: It’s relatively inexpensive. Don’t get fooled into thinking you have to spend a lot of money. Don’t think you have to have an amazing website or $10,000 creative–you don’t. You can see how it works, and worst case scenario, you’ll get some more people in your local area to know about your business. Keep it small, keep it simple, and make sure you’re working with a company that can provide you with the level of targeting and the reach that you need.

Is Google’s browser worth the download time?

(Long Island, N.Y.) Using part of my tax refund, I just invested in a new laptop. I thought it would make me more productive. Instead, I’ve spent the past three weeks familiarizing myself with Windows 7 (more “changes” than “improvements”), and Open Office (it’s free — and much like MS Word, for better and for worse).

Just as I started to get the hang of it all, problems I was having on my old laptop, particularly with my web browser, began to crop up. Namely, I couldn’t load full-featured gmail. After bad experiences with Outlook at one publishing house where I used to work, I use gmail for nearly everything — including my email, calendar and chat. This is a Big Deal. No one else — including several of my tech savvy friends — seem to be having this problem with Firefox and gmail compatibility issues. So I’m going to chalk it up to user error.

And then I found a solution: Google Chrome. The browser, launched in 2008, isn’t exactly new, but it hasn’t yet garnered the mainstream appeal of FireFox and Internet Explorer. Yes, people still use that archaic browser, apparently — the latest version is ranked #2 according to some recent statistics posted at W3Schools.com, but Chrome is fast-gaining market share and looks to surpass IE8 by April, at the latest.

I’ve been a Firefox users since back when the Web browser was considered “cutting edge,” but in just three days, I’m sold on Chrome. I didn’t believe the hype that Chrome makes Web browsing faster, but I’ve found it to be true. I’m on a computer not yet bogged down with programs, so the difference is subtle, but definitely noticeable.

I like the graphic history that shows up when you open a new tab, which provides a quick glance at the most recent Web pages I visited. I’m a creature of habit, and the pictures make it easy to spot what I need quickly.

Tabbed browsing is similar enough to Firefox that there was no adjustment period for me. And when I installed the program, it imported all my bookmarks from FF.

I’ve been able to upload text from OpenOffice to Blogger or WordPress with no issues, and format my posts on both blog platforms — critical in my line of work. And all my social media loads quickly and seamlessly.

Three days isn’t enough to explore all the nuances of a new program — even one as simple as Chrome — but I came across The Power User’s Guide to Google Chrome with some easy-to-read and fast-to-deploy tips to make your Web browsing experience even more pleasant.

I have encountered one odd problem with Chrome. I can’t seem to copy and paste from Open Office into gmail, not even using hotkeys. I don’t know if this is a browser problem, or a problem with gmail. Thinking it was an OpenOffice issue, I typed a sentence into Google Docs, selected all, copied and… still nothing when I pasted into gmail. Odd. (Readers, I’m open to suggestions if you have any; email me.) Am I pasting in invisible ink?

Overall, though, I’m impressed with Chrome. I finally discovered (thanks to a discussion with a friend who’s a computer tech) why Windows 7 has issues with FireFox. He couldn’t even get the browser to load on his machines. Mozilla’s 64-bit version of FireFox is still in Beta version. Beta, as we all know, often equals “buggy.”

I understand that FireFox is open source software and I shouldn’t expect immediate compatibility with the latest and greatest computer systems. It takes time to develop software — especially software that’s distributed free. But I believe that by the time Mozilla releases the full 64-bit version of FireFox, I’ll be so hooked on Chrome, I won’t go back.

Melville-based FalconStor’s VP of Sales earns top honors from Everything Channel

(Long Island, N.Y.) FalconStor’s vice president of North American sales was named a 2010 Channel Chief by the Everything Channel’s CRN. As a leader in creative effective channel programs for IT solution providers, Petty and FalconStor helps companies nationwide protect their data and server infrastructures.

Some of FalconStor’s clients in the New York area include Grey Healthcare Group, one of the world’s top five healthcare communications companies and Maxim Group, LLC. Maxim Group is a full-service financial institution headquartered in New York, with their DR data center based on Long Island.

We congratulate fellow Long Islander Wendy Petty on the Channel Chief award, and would like to use the opportunity to explore secure data storage solutions for small to medium size businesses (SMB). FalconStor’s Vice President of Enterprise Solutions Chris Poelker took a few minutes to answer our questions about data security and storage. “There are new, innovative products available for small businesses to save money over traditional approaches [to data storage], while providing much more stringent service levels for disaster recovery,” Poelker says.

Local Disasters Put Our Minds on Data Recover

Although reports say many companies are cutting costs on technology in these challenging times, businesses of every size should continue investing in secure data storage. The recent earthquakes in Haiti and Chile, along with school fires closer to home in Riverhead and West Babylon, may open SMB owners’ eyes on its importance.

Poelker noted that 9/11 had a large impact on DR awareness, but technology has changed a lot and solutions have become even more affordable since 2001. For business owners who started thinking about data recovery after the terrorist attacks, it may be time to revisit DR solutions. And, as this economy has created an influx of entrepreneurs and new business owners, it’s never too soon for start-ups to think about data recovery. “Many NY-based small business owners are still spinning the wheel and hoping their number does not come up,” Poelker says. “I’m sure if you took a survey, most are still using traditional methods such as offsite tape shipping, which may not help if a real DR issue arises.”

Data Storage “in the Cloud”

Poelker wants Long Island business owners to know: “The ability to provide security is a must, but you don’t need to break the bank or hire expensive consultants in order to get it done.”

He cites inexpensive off-the-shelf solutions for small business owners, such as, small, appliance-based virtual tape libraries which can encrypt backup data, including existing physical tapes. Poelker explains: “Instead of shipping unsecure tapes offsite for storage, you can simply replicate encrypted data to a cloud service provider.” He urges business owners to keep it simple.

Storing data “in the cloud” (that is, on the Internet), through Software-as-a-Service providers, keeps costs low for SMBs and permits access from anywhere in the world through secure channels. FalconStor offers storage virtualization as one of its services, which is a key aspect that enables data to be placed anywhere securely. “[This aspect of our business] enables our SaaS and cloud solution partners to provide extremely cost-effective solutions for internal or external data services on a cost-per-gigabyte basis,” Poelker says.

Need to Learn More about Data Recovery?

It’s important to note that FalconStor does not offer data storage and recovery solutions to end users, but, instead, partners with top OEM providers such as Sun/Oracle, IBM, EMC, Pillar Data, HDS, 3PAR, Xiotech and Nexsan. “FalconStor partners with industry leaders such as MicroSoft, Oracle, Symantec and VMware in order to assure data is always provisioned and protected as efficiently as possible to enable small business to have peace of mind and save money,” Poelker says.

Poelker, who is passionate about the topic of data storage, security and recovery, will talk more about these important, but often neglected, aspects of running a business on this Wednesday’s BlogTalk Radio show Technical Tidbits with Debbie Mahler. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/technicaltidbits

What are you doing to protect your important company data in the event of a local or national disaster?

5 Ways to Spend Your Tax Refund

(Long Island, N.Y.) The latest reports from the Federal Reserve System say consumer credit card debt continues to decline. For the past 14 months, revolving credit has steadily dropped, and is now down $83.3 billion since the fourth quarter of 2008.

This would be good news except for the implications: People remain uncertain about the economic future, saving more and cutting spending. The same is true for many Long Island businesses. However, President Obama’s proposed tax incentives, the Small Business Jobs and Wages Tax Cut, could provide tax credits for small businesses who hire new employees or increase wages.

In addition, tax laws for 2009 mean many small businesses may be expecting generous tax refunds sometime soon. Whether you’ve already filed or are just preparing your taxes, here are five worthwhile ways to invest your tax refund.

1. Faster computers – Looking for a way to boost company morale and productivity without spending a lot? Upgrading to faster computer systems – and energy efficient monitors – can save thousands of dollars in lost productivity from slow computers. Experts recommend, for the best return on your investment, to replace computers approximately every four years. If employees complain that their computers run slow, or if your computers barely meet requirements for robust new programs, it may be time to upgrade.

2. SEO optimization / content creation for your website / social networking – Do you offer compelling material that drives traffic to your website and keeps visitors checking back often? Is your content SEO optimized so you rank well in the search engines? Do you have someone handling your social networking? SEO requirements change frequently, and with Bing now powering Yahoo search, and Google introducing “Social Search” results, these three factors are more important than ever when it comes to marketing your business.

3. Backup systems – If you’re not already backing up your important data, start now. From online backup to hard drives, a multitude of secure options exist to make sure you’ll have everything you need to run your business, even in the event of a system crash. If you’re purchasing new computer systems, this is the perfect time to institute daily automatic back-ups.

4. People – The Small Business Jobs and Wages Tax Cut, if it passes, promises a $5,000 tax credit for every net new employee hired in 2010. The amount is capped at $500,000 per firm, ensuring that small business owners benefit. Additionally, small businesses would be reimbursed for the Social Security payroll taxes when their payroll increases, giving business owners a tax break for offering raises to employees earning less than $106,800 annually.

Even if Obama’s proposed plan does not pass, there’s no better investment you can make in your business than in the people who keep it operating day after day. If the bill does pass, why not use the incentive to put a social media expert on your payroll, reaping the rewards of a stronger Internet presence, enhanced customer service and innovative marketing techniques from fresh faces in your organization?

5. Green improvements – From compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) to solar energy systems, green improvements pay for themselves in tax credits and reduced energy bills.

While New York State solar energy incentives have changed in the past year, there is still money available for improvements. Additionally, LIPA offers several programs that make it worthwhile for businesses to make energy efficient improvements to the workplace.

Coupons, contests and content: And the greatest of these is content.

(Long Island, N.Y.) You’ve built your blog. It’s SEO-optimized. You’re providing regular content (or have hired a writer to do so.) Now you’re sitting back, waiting for the traffic to come rolling in, right?

Don’t get disheartened if it doesn’t happen right away – or at all. Just because you have a blog doesn’t mean everyone knows about it. There are a few easy ways to spread the word, though.

Social networking

You’ve heard me go on and on about Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and the like. One of the best ways to let people know about new blog posts is through your existing social network. You can use a program like Twitterfeed (www.twitterfeed.com) to automatically update Twitter when a new post goes live. Then you can use a program like Ping.fm to post to your other social media accounts every time you make a Twitter post.

Newsletters
Monthly newsletters provide another way to stay in touch with your prospects. You can promote your blog in each newsletter, as well. Post a catchy headline and the first few sentences of your blog post. Hopefully, it hints at solving a problem your readers may have, showing them a new, better way of doing something, or answering a question they have. This information – the “what’s in it for me?” – should always be in the lead (that is, the first paragraph or two) of every blog post.

I write more about writing catchy headlines in this post, over at Writer’s Roundabout. You may find it helpful if you’ve decided to write your own blog content.

RSS Feed
You do offer your visitors the option of signing up for your RSS feed so they’ll always know about your new blog posts, right? Once you’ve attracted visitors, this is one way — along with providing quality content, of course – to make sure they keep coming back.

Comment on other blogs

This is a good way to get spread the word about your website. But unless you have a Virtual Assistant or someone on staff to handle your social media it’s time consuming. You have to find relevant blog posts, make comments, and subtly plug a post you wrote that may be related. Unless you’re surfing the Web and reading other blogs simply because you enjoy it, this is not the best way to spend your time as a small business owner. You can, however, hire people to do this for you

Contests
Some blog owners love contests. Other see it as “bribing” readers, and claim that a contest creates only one-time visitors, not conversions or repeat visitors. I’ve held a few contests for writing books in my little corner of The Freelance Writer’s Journal, with limited success. You can see the number of comments I’ve gotten. No more or less than with many of my other posts.

However, I’m holding contests purely to generate traffic, provide fun content for my readers, and, incidentally, as an excuse to share good books I’ve read. I’m not getting a cash-dollar return on my investment. Even so, my most recent contest may be the last one I hold, since they’re obviously not drawing the traffic I want.

If your blog is tied into an ecommerce site, though, you can use contests as a way to drive traffic to your site and then, convert those visitors into buyers. For instance, your contest could provide a free service or free gift to a person, selected at random, who comments on your blog. Once they’re in the door as a customer (albeit, not a paying one) you have the opportunity to up-sell them. Or you can Wow them with your product and service so much that you’ve created a customer for life. And all those visitors who didn’t win? They know your blog exists now. If they like what they saw, they’ll come back.

Coupons
If the idea of running a contest for free stuff doesn’t appeal, you can offer discount coupons to people who comment on your blog. It’s less expensive (and more environmentally-friendly) than paying to place coupons in print media. Rather than selecting one winner, everyone who visits receives something for their efforts.

Coupons are a proven marketing tactic, used probably since the invention of paper. Offering discount coupons are also a great way to get people to provide their email address for your mailing list. You can use a program like AWeber to get started building your list easily.

In closing, yes, there is a formula to drive repeat traffic to your blog:

•     Create incentives (coupons, contests, or content that solves a problem) to get people to your blog.

– Let people know what you have to offer on your blog.

•     Deliver what you promised.

 

5 Types of Blog Posts

(Long Island, N.Y.) For many business owners, the main challenge of maintaining a blog is deciding upon content. If you’re responsible for creating the content for your blog, considering the different types of posts may help spark ideas.

Lists – “5 Ways to Lower Your Heating Bills” , “5 Types of Blog Posts”, “6 Social Media No No’s”

The mainstay of service-oriented consumer magazines for decades, this form of how-to articles attract lots of traffic (and newsstand sales). They’ve been around for so long because they work – only the delivery medium has changed.

Personal Experience – If you’re a business owner seeking to make a personal connection with your readers, you can do so by sharing your personal experience and tying it into something significant in your industry. Did you recently attend a seminar or trade show? Hold a corporate event? Encounter a problem your industry knowledge helped you solve? Don’t be afraid to get a little personal with your readers – as long as it’s related, in some way, to your company. That’s one of the benefits of having your own blog!

How-to – This post is the most straightforward, and often the most helpful. “How to solve a problem for your readers.” When you write a how-to post, remember to think like a beginner , not the expert that you are. Go step by step for your readers, leaving nothing out, even if it seems obvious to you because you’ve been doing it for years. You’ll find tons of examples of how-to articles (to see how they’re written) at www.howtodothings.com.

Industry News – To be seen as a leader in your field, you want to be “the source” your readers turn to for industry news. If you’re not the first to break a story (and if you’re not the Associated Press or another major news agency, you probably won’t be) offer a unique perspective – a viewpoint your readers won’t find elsewhere.
You can also take mainstream news and discuss its finer implications on your industry. These are some of the more challenging – and emotionally rewarding – posts to write.

Link Love – Linkbacks to (and from) reputable sites help your SEO ratings. Linking to a popular site is also a good way to get on a specific blogger’s radar. Plus, it’s good karma. And it establishes you as an authority — someone who’s been around the Web and knows the best places to go. There’s really no downside to link love posts. Make them a staple of your blog every few months. Deep links (links to content pages, not just a website’s home page) have the most value, for readers and to search engine rankings.

Four Ways to Spend a Snow Day

(Long Island, N.Y.) Last weekend’s blizzard may just be the first of the harsh weather Long Island faces this winter. The recent snowfall was the heaviest Long Islanders have seen in some time. In areas of the East End, residents were asked not to drive. The Towns of Southampton and East Hampton declared a snow emergency, prohibiting anything except emergency vehicles on roadways. The Tanger outlets in Riverhead closed on Sunday due to the snowfall and on Monday, schools in the Town of Islip and eastward were closed. Were you snowed in?

For kids, a snow day means a true day off, a day of sledding and snowmen and snowball fights. But for small business owners, a snow day might mean business as usual (especially if you work from home) or it could mean a day to catch up on tasks that usually fall by the wayside. For instance, if you own a contracting company and your trucks can’t go out, you might take the day to catch up on paperwork and follow-up sales calls. How did you spend last Monday?

Forecasts are predicting more snow and rain for this weekend. It looks to be a long, hard winter. Here are some tech-related things you can do during the next snowstorm. If the power’s out, you can perform most of these tasks through your iPhone or Blackberry.

1. Set up (or update) your social networks.

Is it time to set up a Facebook fan page, revamp your Twitter background, or update your LinkedIn bio? If the information is old, out-of-date or just getting dull to look at, a snow day is the perfect time to make the rounds and refresh your social network data.

Maybe you landed a new, big-name client and need to add the project photos to your website portfolio. Maybe you earned some more certifications and need to add it to your bio.

If you don’t have a strong social network set up that takes advantage of all the major social networking sites, what are you waiting for? Unfortunately, there’s no easy way to update (or launch) all your profiles in one step. Expect to spend a few hours completing the tasks. But it sure beats shoveling the driveway (again).

2. Write an editorial calendar for your blog.

I hate when this happens: I have a few minutes to update my blog, but have no idea what to write about. An editorial calendar solves this problem. Sit down with a large calendar (I like the kind printed on whiteboard material, or one of those “takes up your whole desk” calendars.) Take a half hour or more and brainstorm ideas for your blog, allocating one topic per day or week. (However frequently you update.)

Having a calendar in front of you makes you more mindful of holidays, occasions and seasons where you can create tie-ins. I like to create my calendars up to six months in advance. Just keep going until you run out of ideas. I write more about keeping an editorial calendar for your blog at Writer’s Roundabout.

3. Touch base with former clients or prospects you haven’t connected with in a while.

A snowstorm is a perfect time to spend a few hours chatting. If they’re local (or in areas afflicted by similar storms) the weather makes the perfect conversation-starter. “I was going through some old files and thought of you,” is also an honest but friendly greeting that won’t make anyone uncomfortable. When you “ping” someone this way, remember – you’re not selling. You’re just touching base to see how they’re doing.

4. Perform data back-ups.

When was the last time you backed up your computer system? If you’re like me, it’s been quite some time. We get so busy in the day-to-day aspects of running our business that we forget crucial things like backing up our data – until it’s too late.

Paul Corrigan, owner of Holbrook-based Simply Windowing, (www.simplywin.com) a full-service technology firm, recommends an external hard drive with Symantec Back up Exec for small businesses. Larger businesses that run on a server can upgrade to Symantic Back Up Exec with tapes. “The more data you have, the more often you want to back up,” Corrigan says.

For small business owners and solo-preneurs, a fully-automated, easy-to-use system like Rebit may fit the bill. Rebit is an external USB hard drive back-up system. Simply plug it in and Rebit runs automatically. That way, you know you’ll be protected during the next blizzard.

Which blog platform is best for you?

If you read my column last week, maybe you’ve decided your business could benefit from a blog. How do you set it up?

Two major blogging platforms currently exist: WordPress and Blogger. Within WordPress, you can select WordPress.org or WordPress.com.

This article will not discuss password-protected blogging options, such as blogs through MySpace or LiveJournal. These are great for personal blogs, especially where security is important. (For instance, you want to blog about not-so-happy personal events or talk about your kids.) But if you’re a business, presumably you want people who don’t know you to visit your blog – stick with a public blog platform.

Let’s explore the three main blogging options so you can decide which one is best for you.

WordPress.org– This free blogging platform is very easy to use, even for beginners. With no knowledge of HTML or CSS coding, you can select from more than 70 free themes and have a blog running in virtually minutes.

You cannot, however, upload a third-party theme to give your blog a more unique look or upload plugins to add more features to your blog. You also have to pay if you want to edit the CSS coding to fully customize your blog.

WordPress.com is great for beginners to blogging or blog hobbyists, since the company takes care of everything for you, including:

•     setup

•     upgrades

•     spam

•     backups

•     security

•     hosting

•     promotions – yes, even marketing is taken care of, to a degree. Features like “Blog of the day” provide added opportunities for new readers to find your blog.

WordPress.org– This free blogging platform requires that you have your own host. Since you are hosting your own blog (or paying another company, such as BlueHost or GoDaddy) to do so, you are responsible for stopping spam, maintaining security, and performing your own backups. Additionally, a huge spike in traffic may cause your server to go down.

However, the benefits to WordPress.org are great, especially if you already have a business website and hosting capabilities. WordPress.org lets you install custom themes and plugins, place advertising on the site, edit the database and modify the PHP source code. (Don’t worry; if this doesn’t make sense to you, you can always hire someone to handle it all.)

If you purchase a hosting package through a third-party Web host, it most likely comes with WordPress.org blogging software included.

Blogger.com – Blogger.com, a free blogging platform created and owned by Google, is more similar to WordPress.com than to WordPress.org. However, Blogger offers several benefits over WordPress.com, including:

•     the ability to upload custom, third-party themes

•     the ability to edit CSS code

•     the ability to place ads on the blog through Google’s Adsense program

Rumors abound that, because Blogger is owned by Google, Blogger blogs rank better on Google. This simply is not true. Your blog will rank well (or poorly) based on your SEO optimization, the traffic, and an array of other factors that search engines use to determine ranking – it has nothing to do with your blogging software though.

Using each blogging platform

From a writer’s perspective, once the blog is set up, all three are equally easy to use. Some handy features common to all three include the ability to:

schedule posts to go live at a specific time
include photos or video in your posts
generate discussion with your readers through comments
improve keyword ranking to your blog through the use of tags

Which one is best for you?

If you already have a website and a host, it’s basically a no-brainer to select the added capabilities of WordPress.org.

If you don’t have a host – and don’t plan to set one up in the future – you may decide Blogger is your best bet. On the other hand, if one of WordPress.com’s templates strikes your fancy, and you don’t plan to make money off your blog with third-party advertising, WordPress.com may be the simplest option for you. It’s also easy to make the jump from WordPress.com to WordPress.org as your need for more blogging capabilities expands.

My good friend and fellow writer, Julie Fletcher, is offering a free e-course on how to set up a blog (using any of the major platforms) at her blog, Not Enough Coffee. I highly recommend it for beginners.

The difference between a blog and a website.

I know what you’re thinking: “Fantastic. Another thing to do. I’m still getting the hang of this Twitter thing. I’m Pinging to all my social networks, but that means I have to develop relationships with even more friends and followers. And I still haven’t sent out my holiday cards. Now I need a blog, too?” Maybe.

First, let’s get clear on the definition of a blog. A blog, short for Weblog, was originally a “log” (on the Web, of course) of your day’s activities, news and revelations. An online diary, if you will. The blogger community was made up, primarily, of angsty teenagers and frustrated (largely unpublished) writers. While these demographics still have a little corner of the Web, blogging has changed dramatically.

Business owners realized blogs can be a powerful marketing tool, giving customers and prospects a glimpse into the intimate life of a company. What can a blog do for your business?

A blog provides a means to:

•     share exciting company and industry news

– “personalize” your company

•     Establish you as the expert in your field

•     Draw traffic to your website

But good business people know it’s not about them, it’s about the customer. So what can a blog do for your customers?

A blog can:

•     Provide important industry news and information

•     Help them learn more about the company they’re thinking about hiring or buying from

•     Get tips on solving problems and challenges

•     Give them a reason to visit your blog every day or week

The difference between a blog and a website

Some small businesses set up a site through Blogger or WordPress and call it their company website, but it actually functions as a blog. A blog can be a part of your larger company website, but ideally, you’ll have a site set up where you provide company and product information, testimonials and contact information, where you may or may not post your blog. Remember, all blogs are websites, but all websites are not blogs.

Do you need a blog?

People have been doing business without blogs (or Twitter or Facebook or any social media, for that matter) for thousands of years. But if you feel you have good information to share with your customers and prospects – and want to reach out and get more in touch with the market – a blog is a great way to do so. A blog permits you to start personal dialogues with the people who may use your business. A blog’s interactive nature is like no other advertising medium.

Don’t use your blog to overtly sell. It’s okay to include a link to a specific product or service every so often – or to use your blog as one of many ways to tell your readers about special sales – but, like Twitter, a blog is not a conventional advertising medium and if all you do is hawk your products, people will get tired of reading. Think of a blog as a “value-added” aspect of your business.

Are you ready for the commitment?

Like any other aspect of your business, blogging requires a time commitment. You can set up perfectly nice blog platforms for free, so the cost is primarily that of time – unless you choose to hire a professional blogger to maintain your blog for you.

If you’re writing the blog yourself, expect to spend at least a few hours a week researching and writing posts. It doesn’t matter if you update your blog once a week or everyday – but it’s important to be consistent about it. Readers want to know that, if they check in on a regular schedule, they’ll see fresh content, otherwise they’ll stop visiting.

When you launch your blog, it may help to outline some ideas that you can write about. Whenever an idea comes to mind, jot it down. When it comes time to update your blog, refer to the list and see what inspires you that day.

You’ll also want to take time moderating comments and replying to visitors who are kind enough to comment about your posts. Maintaining a blog requires a commitment, but the payoff can be well worth it.

Stay tuned over the next few weeks to learn more about starting a blog.

Seasonal Shopping Shifts to Online Sales, Reports Say; “Amazon” tops retail-related tweets on Black Friday.

No, the recession isn’t over. But Black Friday and the beginning of the holiday season may put a bright spot on what was, economically, a bleak year.

The National Retail Federation predicted a 1% drop in sales from last year’s holiday season. So far, according to estimates by comScore, online holiday sales may actually increase by 3%. And the National Retail Federation cited a .5% increase in holiday sales on Black Friday. Not bad, considering how many people talked about cutting back this year.

“Not waiting for Monday”

Even more revealing is the role online sales played in the increase in revenue. I’m interested to see what Cyber Monday brings, with shoppers at their desks for the new workweek and going online to find what they couldn’t get over the weekend – or to find better deals.

For instance, when a certain item my husband wanted was sold out during Sports Authority’s 10-hour Black Friday sale, I went online to get the same item. I added a few more gifts into the mix to save on shipping, and crossed off a decent chunk of my Christmas list.

As shown by the comScore stats, many people aren’t waiting until Monday to use the Internet to “replace” store purchases – they skipped the shopping trips altogether and just went online.

Buyers – not browsers

The view from Nassau County’s Sunrise Mall late Friday evening and early Saturday morning gave circumstantial evidence of the same. On both days, the mall was no more crowded than a typical, non-holiday season Saturday in a healthy economy. Ditto for Target Friday evening. Maybe people were still sleeping off the turkey feast? Or maybe they were sleeping in after spending the early hours of the morning at Kohl’s, Wal-mart, Best Buy and Toys -R- Us. (Keep in mind, this is all circumstantial, personal observations.)

It seems the early morning or, in the case of Wal-mart, round-the-clock openings on Black Friday worked as planned, spreading masses of shoppers across more hours. Local reports say many Long Islanders took advantage of door-buster deals. No doubt increased security also kept this year’s Black Friday sales safe.

Another economic indicator – the number of buyers v. browsers at the mall Friday and Saturday – also showed promise. This includes the poor man carrying at least 10 pounds worth of clothing around JCPenney as he trailed behind his wife and children. “I’m just the pack mule,” he said, laughing as he offered to carry our bags for a nominal fee.

Note for the future: Early Saturday morning after Black Friday is the best time for holiday shopping – you may miss some of the best sales, but you’ll still catch some deals and you’ll miss the crowds.

Amazon = heavy social media marketing

The increase in online sales, which account for less than 10% of all holiday sales, sends a powerful message to offline retailers. If they’re to keep their share of the sales pie, offline retailers will need to take lessons from social marketing masters like Amazon. Data from Trendrr showed that tweets about Amazon accounted for nearly 32% of all Black Friday tweets on Thursday. Amazon beat out Wal-mart, Target and Best Buy with Twitter buzz.

Best Buy trailed the pack on Twitter, which is surprising considering it’s an electronics store with a strong online brand and plenty of synergy between the brick-and-mortar stores and BestBuy.com. I love their feature that lets you order online and pick up merchandise at the customer service counter within a few hours. For shoppers who do their research online and don’t feel a desire to browse, it could be a tremendous time-saver—with properly-trained associates behind the desk to fill these orders, that is.

Hope & faith

In all, numbers from this holiday shopping weekend give us something that’s been sorely lacking for many people recently – hope.

And, when the last Kindle is shipped and the final Zhu-Zhu pet sold, I seem to recall that Hope is one of three important things to remember during the holidays… and you can’t buy any of them. Fill your hearts with faith, hope and love this holiday season, and the rest will fall into place.