May 2009 News To Use

Welcome to the May 2009 Edition of the ChamberExpress News to Use. Our goal: to provide ideas, information and news to help chambers of commerce succeed online.

Right Contact, Best Contact: It may seem hard to believe, but many companies don’t have the appropriate information on their website to allow customers to easily contact them. Don’t make customers search for you—instead, create a clear, concise contact page. Here’s how.

Create a contact page and call it “Contact Us” or “Contact (organization name)” and make sure the link is on every page of your website.
Be sure the link title and the page title are the same. For example, if you call the link "Contact Us" on your homepage, the page you take visitors to should also be titled "Contact Us” so they will know they have reached the correct page.
At a minimum, include the following pieces of information on your "Contact Us" or "Contact (organization name)" page:
Organization mailing address
Street addresses for any additional regional or local offices
Phone number(s), including numbers for any additional regional or local offices, toll-free numbers, fax numbers and TTY numbers, if available
Means to communicate by electronic mail (for example, email address(es) or web–based contact form)
Your organization’s policy and procedures for responding to email inquiries, including whether you will answer inquiries and the expected response time
Contact information to report data problems

You also should consider listing the names, titles, phone numbers and emails (as a hot link) of any employees who assist with customer service, especially if you have multiple divisions of your company. For example, your page could say “For assistance with widget, contact (fill in appropriate information) and for assistance with gadgets, contact (fill in appropriate information).” This step will help the customer contact the most appropriate person to assist them and, hopefully, head off any potential frustrations.

Excerpted from websites.gov

Twitter: Right for You?

Social networking is exploding at an astounding rate, and the latest entry into the market, Twitter, offers the opportunity to network with others and grow your business. Click here to find out how.

A social media website that lets you make tiny little updates in 140 characters or less, Twitter is exploding, and if you haven't jumped on board yet, you should check it out. Twitter allows you to choose who you want to connect with, or "follow," and you interact with them in short bursts of contact. So how can you use Twitter to grow your business? Here are some ideas:

Follow people who can teach you something. There are thousands of people on Twitter that know something about your business that you don't know yet. By following them and reading their updates, you can learn more than you ever thought possible.
Follow people who you can teach something. Use Twitter search, or just search through other people's followers, to find people in your target market. Follow them and send useful information that will help them in their businesses and you’ll begin to build your reputation as an expert.
Network with people you can joint venture with. It’s amazing how quickly you can develop real connections and relationships on Twitter. You’ll form alliances and connections that will spur new ideas and projects you can use to grow your business.
Share your website. Twitter gives you a profile page that lets you link to your website, so your followers have instant access. You can even have it automatically “tweet” when you make a new post to your blog, so people are aware of when you post new content.
Learn what NOT to do. You will quickly see that some people are generating huge followings on Twitter and others are stagnating. Watch what those who are not growing doing—or not doing. Are they only using self-promoting tweets? Are they not sending out regular tweets at all? Are they spamming everyone with links? You can quickly find what DOESN'T work on Twitter by watching.
Spend time on Twitter getting to know people, without actively trying to sell them anything, to build relationships and trust. Share who you are as a person and you will develop real connections with people who can help you grow your business.

Have fun! Twitter is a great way to chat for a minute and have some laughs.

Excerpted from a web article by Teresa Hall

News from ChamberExpress: Spring is here and thoughts turn to cleaning. It's a great time to clean up your website. And with nearly half the year gone, it's also a great time to review your site's traffic stats to see if there are areas for improvement. ChamberExpress' team of online operations consultants can help evaluate your activity levels and help refine your site in order to drive more traffic to key areas. Our content experts can help freshen your site as well.

Be sure to send a note or give us a call to get your copy of our soon-to-be published Revenue Mangagement Guide. It's packed with ideas for generating non-dues income.

And don't forget: Join the ChamberExpress Group on Facebook!



	Helping Chambers Services About Us Careers Online Payments	May 2009 News To Use Welcome to the May 2009 Edition of the ChamberExpress News to Use. Our goal: to provide ideas, information and news to help chambers of commerce succeed online. Right Contact, Best Contact: It may seem hard to believe, but many companies don’t have the appropriate information on their website to allow customers to easily contact them. Don’t make customers search for you—instead, create a clear, concise contact page. Here’s how. Create a contact page and call it “Contact Us” or “Contact (organization name)” and make sure the link is on every page of your website. Be sure the link title and the page title are the same. For example, if you call the link "Contact Us" on your homepage, the page you take visitors to should also be titled "Contact Us” so they will know they have reached the correct page. At a minimum, include the following pieces of information on your "Contact Us" or "Contact (organization name)" page: Organization mailing address Street addresses for any additional regional or local offices Phone number(s), including numbers for any additional regional or local offices, toll-free numbers, fax numbers and TTY numbers, if available Means to communicate by electronic mail (for example, email address(es) or web–based contact form) Your organization’s policy and procedures for responding to email inquiries, including whether you will answer inquiries and the expected response time Contact information to report data problems You also should consider listing the names, titles, phone numbers and emails (as a hot link) of any employees who assist with customer service, especially if you have multiple divisions of your company. For example, your page could say “For assistance with widget, contact (fill in appropriate information) and for assistance with gadgets, contact (fill in appropriate information).” This step will help the customer contact the most appropriate person to assist them and, hopefully, head off any potential frustrations. Excerpted from websites.gov Twitter: Right for You? Social networking is exploding at an astounding rate, and the latest entry into the market, Twitter, offers the opportunity to network with others and grow your business. Click here to find out how. A social media website that lets you make tiny little updates in 140 characters or less, Twitter is exploding, and if you haven't jumped on board yet, you should check it out. Twitter allows you to choose who you want to connect with, or "follow," and you interact with them in short bursts of contact. So how can you use Twitter to grow your business? Here are some ideas: Follow people who can teach you something. There are thousands of people on Twitter that know something about your business that you don't know yet. By following them and reading their updates, you can learn more than you ever thought possible. Follow people who you can teach something. Use Twitter search, or just search through other people's followers, to find people in your target market. Follow them and send useful information that will help them in their businesses and you’ll begin to build your reputation as an expert. Network with people you can joint venture with. It’s amazing how quickly you can develop real connections and relationships on Twitter. You’ll form alliances and connections that will spur new ideas and projects you can use to grow your business. Share your website. Twitter gives you a profile page that lets you link to your website, so your followers have instant access. You can even have it automatically “tweet” when you make a new post to your blog, so people are aware of when you post new content. Learn what NOT to do. You will quickly see that some people are generating huge followings on Twitter and others are stagnating. Watch what those who are not growing doing—or not doing. Are they only using self-promoting tweets? Are they not sending out regular tweets at all? Are they spamming everyone with links? You can quickly find what DOESN'T work on Twitter by watching. Spend time on Twitter getting to know people, without actively trying to sell them anything, to build relationships and trust. Share who you are as a person and you will develop real connections with people who can help you grow your business. Have fun! Twitter is a great way to chat for a minute and have some laughs. Excerpted from a web article by Teresa Hall News from ChamberExpress: Spring is here and thoughts turn to cleaning. It's a great time to clean up your website. And with nearly half the year gone, it's also a great time to review your site's traffic stats to see if there are areas for improvement. ChamberExpress' team of online operations consultants can help evaluate your activity levels and help refine your site in order to drive more traffic to key areas. Our content experts can help freshen your site as well. Be sure to send a note or give us a call to get your copy of our soon-to-be published Revenue Mangagement Guide. It's packed with ideas for generating non-dues income. And don't forget: Join the ChamberExpress Group on Facebook!
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