The most popular video content sharing site today is YouTube. Read on to find out how useful you can employ this into your social networking efforts.

YouTube and the like: If a picture is worth a thousand words, can you imagine how many a video is worth? By creating a channel on YouTube, you can upload anything, technical videos, tutorials, office tour etc. Then once uploaded, you can display them through a badge like twitter thanks to this website: http://flashandburn.net/youtubeBadge/

YouTube, owned by Google, is the biggest and most popular, however you’ll find on the web a pleiad of video sharing sites.

The aim is to achieve a website that you will build once and for good, without having to go back to the code time and time again, as everything will be updated from external sites interface. It is a way to use CMS (Content Management System) functionalities without having to spend a penny.

Now that you have a badge for your latest news, your photo gallery is embedded and your latest videos displayed, you’re going to tell me: what about the content?

RSS feeds is the best way to make your life easier, in order not having to update your HTML page, then re-upload and overwrite all the time, which can be very time consuming. So my advice it to get yourself a blog (thanks to Wordpress or Blogger for instance), which will be your platform to write contents in no time.

Once your content is written, you could go to http://rssfeedreader.com (sign up for free) and specify the RSS feed of your blog. Rssfeedreader.com allows you to customise how you would like to display your posts. It will generate a JavaScript or PHP code so you can copy and paste it. (Do not forget to name your page ‘.php’ if you use the php code).

.tel domain name: This new generation domain name allows you to update all your contact details from one place. .tel already has a lot of application making your mobile users life much easier (for iPhone and Blackberry’s users), but more recently, Telnic released a new functionality making possible to embed your .tel details in your website. That means having your contact details up to date at all the time, and again without having to touch HTML code!

And here we are, you now have a website which will be constantly up to date thanks to the Web 2.0 technologies

There are other video content sharing sites which are gaining popularity too. Listed here are some personal favourites which you can also apply to your social networking efforts.  To name a few are Howcast, Revver, Vimeo, Viddler and  Yahoo video. However the list is growing daily.

As we see further development into rich internet applications, video content will become more heavily employed. This now enhances not just the user experience but also attracts repeat visitors to your sites.

http://easily.co.uk/how-to-use-social-networks-to-update-your-sites-part2.html

Make sure your business is properly protected when accessing the internet.
Surfing the web is no longer as easy as it used to be. In the olden days hackers used to send out viruses just to try and achieve the status of being ‘top hacker’ on the internet. While you’re online, everything may still look the same, but under the surface things have changed.

Hackers have now been replaced by cyber criminals, professionals looking purely at ways of stealing your identity for profit. These cyber criminals are smart. They have many ways of trying to take your identity from you, tricking you using ‘social engineering’ such as stealing credit card, bank account details, login names or passwords – any form of identity where they could create duplicate identities for a financial gain.

What are the latest threat trends?

The greatest online threat today is hidden exploits, a malicious code that is secretly downloaded onto your PC when you visit an infected website. This code can be used to steal your financial details, passwords and other information. According to Google, 1 in 1,000 Web pages currently have some kind of malicious code, mainly in the form of exploits delivered by these secret ‘drive-by downloads.’ That translates to something like 70,000 poisoned pages ready and waiting to infect visitors on any given day.

Google also found that most antivirus programs could not detect all of these threats. At the current time, many of them detected only 70% of the drive-by downloads.

How can businesses beat the threats?

The situation is getting better as Internet Security software providers (like Norton, AVG and McAfee) adapt their programmes to fight the current threats, with new solutions, features and technology being brought in to overcome this. AVG were amongst the first to address this, with their Patent Pending LinkScanner technology. Unlike most other software, AVGs LinkScanner scans all the web pages you visit in real time, alerting you to the threat of any exploits that may be hidden there. It also does the same with results of any searches you carry out on Google, Yahoo or MSN without slowing down your surfing.

Each day you will discover new malicious programs. If you want complete protection, then your Internet security program must know about these latest programs. It cannot be emphasized enough how vital it is you perform updates. With new updates, it can keep up with all the current online threats. Make an effort to update your programs components and database on a regular basis such as every week or every few days.

http://easily.co.uk/stay-safe-when-surfing-the-web.html

Having an online presence is like having bookshelves. You do not want to mix your personal journal with your business newspapers, neither your family photo albums with your company brochures. So how do you tidy everything up?

Firstly you need to have clearly in your mind what is personal and what is for business purposes. This can be hard depending on your profession but that should the easiest part . After all you alone know what you’re trying to achieve. This will determine what message you would like to spread and to whom.

Once this is clear, the best approach is to merge your efforts by focusing on crucial websites which will feed others.

You probably know that some people visit your website, some people have a look at your Facebook pages, follow you on Twitter, or comment on your blog etc. Your visitors have so many ways to get in touch with you that the challenge for you is to get your message out there, to all of them, at the same time and with a minimum effort.

So how do you do that? Social Networks, RSS feed and embedding are the keys. Let me explain to you with concrete examples and tools how to tidy up your online social life.

Those tips can be applied to your website if you have basic knowledge in HTML, otherwise you can also use most of those quick steps for your blog.

So where do you start?

Twitter: If you do not already have an account with Twitter, I will encourage you to do it. I was myself a bit sceptical about it, thinking how can I have possibly the time to tell others about small details which you think nobody will care, but I was wrong. Twitter can also be used to feed content to your website or blog thanks to badges, which you can get directly from them. Badges is a piece of code that you can copy and embed on your site, which allows you to display in real time your latest tweets.

That little message of 151 characters can be very useful to send updates to your followers, whether it is promotional message, status update, day to day thoughts, possibilities are unlimited. This little badge will act your “What’s on” board, which you can display on your homepage, or news page.

Flickr: ‘A picture is worth a thousand words’, so why not having 200 for free? 200 pictures is what you can upload and share from the Free Flickr Account. You can upgrade anytime later on to their “pro” account which gives you unlimited upload.

So how can we use Flickr for our website? Well, this Yahoo! service, will be your images library, you can organise them, name them, even Geo-tag them so you could later on display a world map of where your pictures have been taken thanks to Trippermap.

Once you’ve organised your pictures, you can find on the web an arsenal of tools to display your galleries. One of my favourite is http://www.tinou.com/coverflow.jsp which give you chance to have a nice iTunes style gallery. Another good one, ready to embed is http://flickrslidr.com.

http://easily.co.uk/how-to-use-social-networks-to-update-your-sites-part1.html

Online marketplaces target a highly specialized group of people who are interested in global, business-to-business (B2B) trade. They offer features and support services that are customized for this special group and provide an efficient way for SMEs to promote products directly to potential buyers. A standardised supplier storefront on an online marketplace has many of the same functions as a corporate website and can be updated anytime by the registered member. Unlike a simple search engine, online marketplaces also offer a like-minded sourcing community as well as industry news and trading resources.

Search engines trawl the Web, but their keywords are usually bought on a per country basis. If you are a supplier in India wanting to sell your goods in the UK, you could buy a few keywords on a search engine targeting the UK. But if buyers in the US, Australia or Europe are also potential customers, you will have to allocate a separate budget for each market. Suppliers advertising on online marketplaces can rest assured that for the same price, buyers from all over the world can find them by accessing the Internet.

EverFast Rechargeables, a French company, posted a new battery charger on Alibaba.com and experienced an instant buzz and excitement about their product that spread to blogs and technology websites worldwide. The company had to upgrade its server to cope with the huge number of visitors and shipped 200,000 chargers in the first 30 days. The speed and global reach offered by online marketplaces is unprecedented.

The benefit of the Internet is that businesses can easily measure the effectiveness of online marketing spend based on the number or inquires received. Since online marketplaces usually charge an annual subscription fee for storefronts, SMEs can budget for the fixed fee structure and pay the same price no matter how many clicks they get from potential customers.

I would advise SMEs getting started with online marketing to keep it simple and outsource what they don’t understand. To use search marketing it is best to have someone in-house with keyword marketing expertise. Otherwise you should consider using marketing firms that have a proven success rate of getting companies to rank higher in search results.

The right mix of search marketing and B2B websites can really help a business take, off but small companies need to balance return on investment with manageability. Make sure your business maximises the benefits of e-commerce by marketing through the right channels. For a small business new to e-commerce, an online marketplace may be the easiest way to start an online promotion.

http://easily.co.uk/how-to-use-the-web-to-market-your-company-part2.html

The rise of the internet means that global marketing has never been easier, but with a plethora of different online marketing options picking the right marketplace to maximise business is not straight forward.

Going global has never been easier and more affordable for a small to medium size enterprises (SME), especially from the relative comfort of one’s own factory, shop or home office. While traditional marketing channels have included trade shows, catalogs and trade associations, the Internet has introduced new tools to bring trading partners together by using search engines, portals and online marketplaces.

But which channels should a small business with a limited marketing budget choose? Should it buy keywords from search engines or establish a storefront on e-marketplaces, or both? What is the right online marketing mix for an SME?

Having a company profile online and being easily found by search engines is the first step for any company engaging in e-commerce. Search engines are good for mass marketing to a wide audience and addressing the so-called ‘long tail’ of the Internet.

But for sellers there are pitfalls. A search engine is more consumer traffic driven with no budget guarantee, so costs can accumulate without any reasonable assurance of sales. There is also a serious global issue of click fraud, whereby competitors click repeatedly to increase your pay-per-click advertising costs. At this time, there is no known solution that can eliminate 100% of click fraud. A separate problem is the need to build and maintain a website, which can be an additional heavy burden for small companies that might not have the resources or budget for this.

Buyers need to be aware that search engines have no authentication and verification, so they can never be sure if a site they have found is from a legitimate company or a phish website until they do their own investigation. Professional buyers often find search engines less helpful because the wide variety of website formats found makes it hard work to compare one seller to another.

Search engine results can cover virtually anything available on the World Wide Web. This includes information from businesses as well as associations, governments, institutes and even individuals. The value of an ‘online business card’ is decreasing as companies now compete with millions of other sites for a favourable search result ranking. Virtual marketplaces have emerged to fill the need of suppliers for targeted brand exposure.

A lot of companies are now heavily using social networking platforms to increase their brand awareness. One of the most popular social networking sites to date is Twitter, which was launched May 2007. You have the benefit of having individuals getting connected to your brand; whether it’s a blogger seeking more readers or politicians who utilize twitter to garner more voters. It is so popular that even the now president of America, Barack Obama, used it during his presidential campaign.

http://easily.co.uk/how-best-to-use-the-web-to-market-your-company-part1.html

A customer decides on a product in your store and buys it. This is an important step towards success in e-commerce, the next steps that decide whether a one-time customer becomes a loyal patron are still pending. Unfortunately, many online merchants overlook customer care and the provision of after-sales services and lose many customers because of this. At the same time, it is very easy to keep customers satisfied after a purchase and keep them coming back to your store.

Prompt order confirmation and transparent tracking
After the actual buying process the customer should automatically receive a confirmation e-mail including all order-related information. In your EasilyShop store this confirmation e-mail is generated automatically and sent to the customer. Make it clear to your customers that you are available to lend assistance even after sales, e.g. by offering them several options for getting in touch with you at any time.

Increase transparency to customers by offering them an online tracking feature for delivery. This enables customers to see the location of their delivery at any time, hence transparency and increasing the trust placed in your store. Your EasilyShop store includes an interface to the World-ship tracking service from UPS, one of the leading logistics companies in the world.

Fast and complete delivery
Fast delivery of ordered products is extremely important for the long-term success of your store. You must ensure that customers receive their orders within the promised delivery period. Nothing angers customers more than delivery that is late, incomplete or faulty. A small give-away included with delivery costs you almost nothing and makes the customer happy. And the customer will always fondly remember your delivery.

Accommodating guarantee and active complaints management
A claim for warranty or an exchange is a situation that can occur time and again. This supposedly critical situation offers the online merchant a substantial opportunity that is often not taken. You can now put your customer-orientation and friendly service to
the test. Be accommodating, proactive in your communication, friendly and open; your customers will be grateful and shop again at your store.

The same holds true for customers who complain to you. Take these customers very seriously and actively manage complaints from customers. Opportunity also lies in the complaint, the chance of solving a previously unknown problem.

Periodic customer surveys
Carry out customer satisfaction surveys at regular intervals. This is the only way you can continuously improve your store and service, serving
your customers even better and satisfy them. Carry out the survey online or send a written questionnaire to the addresses in your customer database.

Increase the number of completed and returned survey forms by offering an attractive incentive, e.g. a drawing for a prize among all returned forms or a special discount in combination with a time-limited coupon for a specific product. By the way, you will get a regular, continuous flow of information from your customers if you include a short feedback form in your deliveries.

Additional after-sales services
The customer buys a product in your store. If you stay on the ball now you have a big chance of making a regular customer out of this one-time customer. How? Surprise him with extra services. You sell technically-demanding products? Give your customer access after the sale to additional, useful information such as FAQs, documentation, spare parts lists, explosion drawings, downloads, etc. related to the product that
he bought from you. In combination with other customer relationship activities such as periodic newsletters, loyalty discounts, customer accounts and addressing the customer personally, you will be able to sustain increased customer satisfaction, long term loyalty to your store and thereby the amount of turnover per customer.

http://easily.co.uk/after-sales-means-future-sales.html

Easily.co.uk gives a introduction to the Google Chrome browser. How to install, add extensions and some clever features too. Enjoy http://ping.fm/pGJoc

How to beat domain squatters?

This article details about the strategies that one needs to adopt regarding the domain name registration and also some basic steps to beat the domain squatters.

Domain squatting also known as cyber squatting is the act of registering a domain name with the purpose of getting monetary benefit from the trademark belonging to someone else. Usually cyber squatter registers a domain name for a business or trademark that belongs to someone else and later on tries to sell it to the actual owner of business/trademark at hefty profit.

Sometimes cyber squatter also puts up derogatory remarks to defame the business. This trend of cyber squatting started in late eighties or earlier nineties when the concept of internet was catching up and not many businesses had online presence.

The domain name squatters adopt different technical strategies depending upon the situation. Sometimes they register domain names that sound similar to a well-known business or a trademark. This is called typo squatting. Another strategy adopted by cyber squatters is that they try to register domain names when the original owners forget to re-register the domain names before their expiration date. This usually occurs when domain names get expired and the owner could not renew them on time.

How to find if you are a victim of cyber squatting?

The first step is to use any good search engine to find sites that are registered with your trademarks or business name. If you find a website with your name, access that site. If it displays a page which says that “this domain name is for sale or website under construction”, then it means someone else has already registered a domain name that belongs to you. If you find yourself in this situation, try to evaluate which option will save your time and money, paying the seller or taking a legal action against the cyber squatter.

Now days when everyone knows about potential benefits of internet and online presence, one can follow the following simple strategies to beat cyber squatters:

1.  Anti-cyber-squatting laws familiarity: The government has recognized the potential of misuse of internet and to tackle that problem government in most of states and countries are updating their local laws pertaining to cyber squatting and internet based crimes. As an owner of domain name, one needs to familiarize themselves with the basic laws of anti-cyber-squatting. It is good practice to make yourselves aware about your rights related to internet. This might save your business in case legal disputes related to internet takes place

2. Register your domain name proactively: Internet is a very important medium to reach millions of potential customers, so you should register domain names related to your business or trademarks proactively. This will not cost you much and will save you from falling prey to cyber squatters. Once you have registered your domain name you should always keep your registration active.

3. Take care when launching new products or services: If you are thinking of launching new products or services in the market, you should do a research on the availability of domain name and immediately get that registered even if you do not need them. It will pay you in the long run and you will be at ease knowing that your domain name is now safe and secure.

4. Uniform Domain Name Resolution Policy (UDRP): It is a process, which has been developed by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) for resolving the disputes pertaining to domain name. In case of any domain name misuse or cyber squatting, you can register your complaint at UDRP. Registering with UDRP would cost you less money as compared to local courts.

The act of cyber squatting is annoying to everyone. Your proactive action taken with respect to registering your domain name will indeed prevent you from becoming a victim of the same.

http://easily.co.uk/How-to-beat-domain-squatters.html

http://www.free-press-release.com/news-easily-co-uk-goes-vintage-to-celebrate-its-first-decade-1254217847.html

We take you on a tour of the Google Toolbar…Let’s see what you can learn today!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89ssHOEfcT0

Having an online presence is like having bookshelves.

You don’t want to mix your personal journal with your business newspapers, neither your family photo albums with your company brochures. So how do you tidy everything up?

Firstly you need to have clearly in your mind what is personal and what is for business purposes. This can be hard depending on your profession but that should the easiest part – after all you alone know what your are trying to achieve. This will determine what message you would like to spread and to whom.

Once this is clear, the best approach is to merge your efforts by focusing on crucial websites which will feed others.

Read More