3 New Ways to Enliven Web Site Content

Health, Arts and Small Business (SMB) Professionals:

Here we are being overwhelmed by a tidal wave of innovations in technology. I don't understand what Blu-Ray means. I think hi-def TV is a little creepy. And I worry that if I got an iPhone, I wouldn't be able to learn how to use it or its 10,001 apps. (I test drove a Prius once, and it's lack of "normal" controls made me feel like the car was controlling me instead of the other way around.)

Yet new technologies are transforming how business is done. And I guess the good thing about the Great Recession is that, because many of these new technologies are easily accessible and low-cost, it forces us to take advantage of them -- and rely on our own creativity -- sooner rather than later. Small business loans just don't exist right now, and costs must be cut, but marketing must continue.

1. Social Networking:

Certainly Twitter and Linked In are easy enough to use for marketing purposes. When I complete a blog post, I "twitter" about the topic and include a shortened link (see http://bit.ly/) back to the blog. This establishes me as a Twitterer who delivers helpful content on a certain topic. Meanwhile, back at the blog, I have attached a couple of Twitter gadgets: a button that encourages blog readers to follow me on Twitter, and a sidebar containing my latest Twitter topics.

Linked In helps me network with other professionals, and my profile contains a link back to my blog. I can also post a short "What I'm doing now" message that can attract searchers through my use of key words. Also available on Linked In is box.net, which allows my co-writer, a doctor, to share files with me as we write a book together. And as we write it, we are contantly sharing that fact with our followers, to build interest in our topic.

2. Images, Film, Video:

I was especially interested in Thomas L. Friedman's recent column in the New York Times, "The Do-It-Yourself Economy." At the same time that marketing budgets are squeezed, some easy-to-use Web sites allow the SMB do-it-yourselfer to enhance a blog or Web site with photo images, illustrations and videos from istockphoto. Check out the "Dollar Bin" -- you may find just the right images to spruce up your site.

3. Podcasts, Music:

If you're like me, you may think adding audio to your site is too "techy," but here are a couple of sites that make it easier. If, for example, you'd like to podcast on a topic that will interest your following, start with a script. Write it yourself, or use box.net to co-write it with a colleague. When the script is to your liking, visit voices.com to select a professional narrator. Instead of you spending days or weeks re-recording every time you make a blooper, a specialist you select in a bidding process will e-mail you a professional audio within hours of your request.

If you make a film or video, you may need a soundtrack behind it. Some sites even play an ambient tune or sound to welcome visitors. For example, when you land on a writer's site, you may hear the sound of typewriter keys clicking. Available downloads at audiojungle.net include music suitable for business videos, ads and Web sites. Some of the tunes play a loop, and all of the ones I tested were of high quality. A typical price is $12.