Good idea for local advertising

[vito]

I have always been a proponent of advertising your hosting services to your local market. You get greater degree of loyaly, referrals and a lower incidence of spam and churn. Not to mention that you can generally charge a bit more.

I was reading a local community newspaper this morning and read an article that was talking about a free seminar being offered in a couple of weeks at a local community center. It will teach people about Internet security (fraud prevention, safety for kids, etc.). IMO, I think this would be a great way for a hosting company to advertise their name.

If you sponsored a free seminar, it would mean having to reserve a location for an evening, bring in a qualified speaker, print some literature and/or brochures, rent a projection system to display your computer screen on the wall, etc. So it would cost a couple of bucks. However, if you compare that to other advertising venues, it is quite affordable. You get your name out there, you build goodwill, etc.

I just think it's a great "outside-the-box" way of advertising to your local community.

Vito

 

[sirjonathan]

I agree completely.. that's an AWESOME way to get your word out. Of course, like anything, it could totally flop. You may not get anyone there or you may just totally lose their interest once they ARE there.. (gotta make it interesting ).. but done well it can have a tremendous impact.

Thanks for sharing! A similiar idea is to offer a free class on internet basics.. put together a good course and then tell the local newspapers. Its an awesome community service thing and they'll eat it up. Its a lot like a seminar but on a smaller scale.

Thinking "outside-the-box" is how you set yourself apart from all the rest and its the REAL challenge behind it all.

-Jonathan

 

[vito]

... (gotta make it interesting ).. but done well it can have a tremendous impact.

Agreed. And that is why you need to be sure to bring in a professional speaker with a dynamic and interesting delivery. If you try to go the cheapo route, you may as well save your money, it will likely flop. If you're going to do it, do it right or don't do it at all.

Vito

 

[Exon]

What would you teach at an Internet Basics class? Setting up a free E-mail address (Give them a choice of Hotmail/Yahoo/Etc...), sending an E-mail, getting an E-mail.

How to use Google, Yahoo, Altavista to do searches. Show the different options of searching Google (Images, Groups, Etc...) how to do more on Yahoo (View TV listings in your area, find movies and phone numbers).

How to use MSN Mappoint (Mapblast) and show them Terra Server (http://terraserver.microsoft.com/).

Maybe some advanced sections on removing Spyware using AdAware, Spybot Search and Destory, and perhaps the new Microsoft Antispyware program?

This is something that I am extremly interested in putting together, but often I place too much "faith" into people and in turn it bites me in the butt, so I woulnd't want to overwhelm the participants.

I know of a few local people who could do the internet security and tips.

We might have to do a couple seminars. Like a month of seminars, every X night at X time 'til X time.

 

[sirjonathan]

AH, we've got a serious contender! I've had a good deal of experience in teaching, both in a classroom setting and one on one.. You would REALLY be surprised at how little your "average" user knows. There's a number of alarming statistics out there including things like.. the number of people who don't know what scrollbars are for.. Now that's scary .

I think search engines are a GREAT topic to start on. SO few people know how to effectively search for what they're really looking for! I see people on my site and the terms that got them there.. and well, its usually at least worth a good laugh.. except for the sickos whom I'm afraid were deeply dissapointed with what they found .

Free email is a great way to start. Explain to them that once they have their account, they want to be careful about whom they give it away too. Just because a website asks for your email doesn't mean its safe!

Also, one thing I would REALLY touch on, especially if you have an older audience.. is that just because a website says something does NOT mean its true. I've seen many people, both young at old, deeply perplexed by popups telling them that their computer has a virus.. People need to be aware of the scams out there and they need to be aware without getting scared and just deciding to unplug their computer .

I would start a class that's very basic and begin by assessing the level of your participants. Odds are you're going to get a wide variety of people. Perhaps you might want to start by appealing to a certain demographic to begin with. Running a small class for seniors might be a really good way to get in.. if you can get them comfortable with it you can get just about anyone.

Be sure to provide homework. Give them fact sheets with the things covered so that they don't feel stressed to "get it all" while they're in class. Once its over they can review what they've learned.

Make sure you have your website on the homework. Perhaps you can even do some specials for them.. offer them a promotion or something.. free email, or the like. Don't focus on selling them. You've just won them over, no need to stuff something down their throat. They're learning to trust you and they're going to remember you when its time to buy AND theyr'e going to tell their friends .

Keep it up! I definitely encourage you go for it and I'd be happy to help ya out in anyway that I can .

-Jonathan Wold

 

[Simon]

Touche, Vito.

Teaching adults how to protect their children from online predators, and how to really lock their system down, is something that many communities are really screaming out for.

Seminars such as 'how to lock down your Wireless connection", "how to avoid identify theft", (the previous two go hand-in-hand) "how to protect your kids online", etc, are awesome projects to take on.

As we discussed, a parent would be (rightfully) putting their trust in you completely (heck, you're protecting their kids - the ultimate level of confidence is needed). Not only is this something that would be a genuine service to them, but it can help expand your contacts book pretty wildly, and produce a great business partnership for all involved.

The first and second points are HUGE issues nowadays (heck, look at the number of identity theft ad's going on right now for a true sizing). Little do people know that when they connect using a wireless, unsecured connection, they may as well be handing out photocopies of their credit card.

Vito, if I were you, and I were in your area, with the reach potential you have, I'd be jumping all over that idea.

Simon

 

[UrbanHostOnline]

What I have found to be a great idea for getting your name out there is posting your name on college campuses. If you live near a university or a community college, get a flyer or notecard. Most kids who contact you already know what they want and are willing to pay for quality service. They may be cheap college students but they defiantly know quality web hosting is essential to their site.

Nick

 

[sirjonathan]

Yeah, college students can definitely be a savy group to market too, especially if you can spin your products and services the right way.

I'm curious to see if there has been any followup to this one.. How goes things Vito?

-Jonathan

 

[vito]

It goes fine, Jonathan. Thanks for asking. :beer:

Vito

 

[ANVANA]

Local Cable Success

The advertising methods I use to market locally aren't free. But I consider them inexpensive for the results I have received.

I have had very good success getting local and out-of-town customers by using the cable access channel. My area is unique, though, as it is an area that depends on the travel and tourism industry for the local economy. The cable access channel provides visitors to my area with news and events as well as detailed information about local business.

I run simple stationary ads, using little more than our company logo, tagline, and URL. Very easy and inexpensive to create. The ads cost a total of $15 per week and run throughout the day. They are shown 7 days a week, all year long.

I have found that this does two things for me: First, it simply gets my company name in front of local business eyeballs. The consistency of the ads drills the name and logo into their heads. Second, it brings visitors to my web site where they can learn all about my company and what I offer.

During the summer and vacation season, our local population explodes by a factor of 50. And, it changes every week. Visitors tune into the cable access channel to learn about local attractions and events. So, I get tons of exposure to prospects outside of my immediate area.

I've also made agreements with local real estate and property rental firms. When visitors arrive for their vacation stay, the rental firms present the visitors with a free "welcome package" containing, among other useful things, gifts and messages from local businesses. My arrangement allows me to include a small gift with my company logo and URL on it. Last year I gave away a cheap Frisbee. It was a hit! Throughout the summer I observed a good number of visitors playing with it on the beach. And, I imagine some of them took it home.

I do not place ads in our local weekly rag. For some reason, the publisher imagines his newspaper as something more valuable than it really is. I can invest in gold for less money and probably get better results.

Granted, these aren't the only methods I use to advertise my business. And, they won't work for everyone. But, in the last 3 years they have proven to be two inexpensive ways for me to help get my company name out into the local market and beyond. I think consistency is the secret.

I work hard at making my local customers happy. The result is that I've got a good base of local customers and they recommend me to their colleagues. My company has a reputation of being dependable and supportive and one that my local customers feel good about doing business with. You can't buy that kind of advertising for all the money in the world.

One more thing. If you're looking to do more business locally, become a member of your local Chamber of Commerce. Get away from in front of your computer and attend Chamber meetings and events. Always carry "professionally-made" business cards to get into the hands of local business owners at every opportunity.

 

[ldcdc]

Your post was a very interesting read Anvana. Thank you for sharing the knowledge! :agree:

 

[webfreak08]

It definitely is a great post, Joe. By the way, welcome to HostingDiscussion! It looks like you're off to a good start.

 

[Exon]

Very informative and well written. Thanks for the insight Joe!

 

[ANVANA]

Thank you all. I appreciate the positive feedback. I look forward to sharing my experiences and opinions with everyone in return for the helpful insights and ideas you have all shared with me.

 

[pmhoran]

Hosting computer courses is definitely a good idea. But keep in mind there are people seeking instruction in even the most basic of computer usage.

Locally ... they even have a course aimed specifically at seniors that are using a computer for the first time. But around here ... the courses are not totally free ... inexpensive ... but not free. A friend of mine is now taking a course that cost her $10 for 2 nights (2 hours each night ... 2 Wednesday nights in a row) that does get into protecting yourself, your kids & your computer. But a friend of the family who bought her first computer a couple years ago went to a course that basically just taught her how to send an email and how to surf the internet and how to use some of the programs that came with her computer. She just wanted to be able to send emails and use a chat program. Her daughter and son-in-law live in Austria ... and now her grown grandkids live in Italy, Germany & Egypt ... so the long distance calls were exorbinant. I gotta give her credit though ... 78 years old and learning how to use a computer

And ... from what I have heard ... the guy putting on these courses (an IT specialist) has full classes each time. The amounts he charges ... it doesn't really give him much more than enough to cover his expenses. But each of the courses is basically geared to specific groups of people ... or specific skill levels. I "think" the town actually gives him some kind of renumeration for doing the courses ... as part of the "community programs" or something. Maybe something to look into. May as well make a few bucks while you are getting your name out there if you can.

Peter