NATC

“NATC (the Northern Adirondack Trading Cooperative), begun in 2004 and operating through the St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce for the past seven years, has been dropped by its funding partner PathStone due to economic circumstances.

NATC, served by Director Ruby Sprowls, focused on e-commerce, Internet training, and business services.

The program was initiated by former Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in partnership with ROI, Hewlett-Packard and the St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce.

NATC was considered such a success that the program took 2nd place in the World Chambers Competition, 2005; then Chamber Director Karen St. Hilaire and Program Director Sprowls traveled to South Africa to accept the prestigious award.

“We so regret the interruption in NATC services and are eagerly searching for other funding partners so the program can continue at some future point,” said Chamber Director Pat McKeown. ”We have many NATC alumni throughout the North Country who became e-commerce entrepreneurs because of NATC. We don’t want to shut the door on them.”

Anyone needing help with current projects can contact Ruby Sprowls at rsprowls@hughes.net

Tonight, there were two questions that came up in the Social Media for Business workshop organized by the Potsdam Chamber. The first was about the edit form which now allows for additional information such as the brands you carry or additional services you might offer that don’t correspond with a Google category.

I would like to respond to that question–when someone visits your Google Places listing they must click the “more details” link in before the information can be seen.

Check out this Google Places link for more information.

The next question was about how to delete a duplicate listing or a listing that may infringe on your brand or reputation–I think Google provides an excellent process for addressing this this issue check out How to Remove a Listing.

Finally, please remember the Internet is an ever changing network I would like to recommend one of the best tactics for monitoring your brand is a free service called Google Alerts, add an alert to monitor where your business name (your brand) is appearing on the web.

Here’s another resource for keeping track of changes that can improve your online presence SEOMOZ, check the link for more ideas.

I’m new to this blog thing–your comments and ideas are welcomed and encouraged.

Do You Know the Three Signs of An Outdated Website?

Welcome to the new “Marketing Your Product for Profit” blog. This is my first post. As I continue this journey with you look for relevant information to help you grow your business online and off. Here’s a topic that’s close to my heart what about yours..Keeping your Website updated and engaging. This is the first installment of DIYs to help you navigate the dynamic world of the Internet.

As more and more consumers turn to the internet to guide their purchasing and information decisions, it is essential to take a hard, unbiased look at your website to make sure it meets the demands of potential customers. Remember, online customers are skeptical by nature, and if your website appears shoddy and outdated, there is a good chance they will abandon your site for one of your competitors.

How can you tell if your website is outdated, look for these three signs?

Your copyright is not current. Nothing screams outdated like a website with a copyright from 2003. It shows that you have not updated your website in years, and it makes it look like there is no active, breathing company behind the website. Customers want to know that your company is current, relevant, and trustworthy. Update your copyright, and earn the trust of potential customers.

The copy does not reflect your current business. Businesses grow. They change. If it has been a few years since you have updated your website, there is a good chance it does not reflect your current business. It may no longer correctly speak to your target audience, and it might not focus on your latest unique selling point.

Your site does not display properly across all browsers. In the past, all you really had to worry about when building your site was making sure it looked okay in Internet Explorer. That is no longer the case. Not only are there several other browsers you have to consider (Google Chrome, Firefox, etc.), but there are also mobile browsers, so your site needs to display correctly on cell phones as well.

We’ve launched a redesigned site, it’s still a work in progress, please take a few minutes and evaluate our site –please make sure that the site reflects what we what we teach!

I look forward to your feedback, use the form in the Contact Us Tab or Facebook to post your comments or suggestions your feedback will help us make this site a resource that you will want to use.

For more Marketing Tips join Marketing Your Product for Profit on Facebook or subscribe to the group.

Sincerely your,

Ruby