Social media allows users to interact with each other and discuss shared interests. Popular social media sites include: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, MySpace, Wikipedia, Digg, Delicious, Friend Feed, Flickr, Ning, Skype, Stumbleupon and many more. However, the three most popular sites include Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn which is what we will discuss this month.

If you are not currently on these sites, try one for a week. You may be surprised with who you find: competitors, vendors, news sources, your dry cleaner, even your elementary teacher. You will certainly notice the number of businesses that not only have accounts but also are advertising on the sites. Here are some tips to help you establishing yourself online:

Most business owners would agree that it’s easier to provide more solutions to an existing client than it is to find new customers. Repeat business comes from providing quality and value, but also from keeping in touch with your clients, reminding them of your services and promoting things you think they can benefit from. Email marketing is an easy and effective way to remain at the top of a customer’s mind for that next transaction, as long as your email marketing messages are appropriate and effective. Although it may seem difficult for a small business to manage an ongoing email marketing campaign, there are many simple and effective tools designed to make this easy and affordable. This month we highlight what to look for in an email marketing tool.

List management – If you already have permission to use your customer’s email addresses and you’ve been storing these in a database, spreadsheet or email program, you’ll want to be able to import this information easily. Also look for easy sign-up methods that integrate with your website but also allow you to manually add extra subscribers. List groups are a great feature too, allowing you to segregate your subscriber list so you can deliver content targeted to that particular segment of your customer base.

Templates – You want to deliver emails that look professional, but don’t require a professional developer to create HTML code changes every time you want to send something. Look for a tool with a broad range of templates that are easy to modify and re-use.

Measurable results – By reviewing statistical information about your email campaigns, you’ll be able to fine-tune your messages and identify what is working and what isn’t. Look for the ability to report on things like how many of your emails were opened and how many people clicked on links to find out more information.

Approved bulk mailer – Internet providers and anti-spam services identify sources of large volumes of emails and can ‘blacklist’ them to prevent a spam onslaught. Look for an email marketing tool provider who is known as an ‘approved bulk mailer’ and is accepted by many ISPs and anti-spam services.

Anti-spam law compliant – As many countries develop regulations to try and limit unsolicited email, make sure your email marketing tool is compliant with any local laws. These may include having to list a physical address in your emails and having to process unsubscribe requests within 10 days. Other anti-spam features are also desirable, such as ‘opt-in’ confirmation emails and a one-click unsubscribe process.

Talk to your local Computer Troubleshooter about the right email marketing tool, so your business can easily take advantage of the sales potential in your own current client base.

We often get asked “what’s the best anti-virus software?” however that’s like asking a group of people what the best car is. Raise the subject of anti-virus software with a group of computer experts and you will get many different opinions. Here are some things to consider when selecting security software for your computer:

Retail box or download – Many good software products are not sold in retail chain stores but are available for secure purchase and download from the internet. This sometimes makes it harder to ask questions about the product, but remember that the retail sales person has a vested interest in recommending the product that they stock. Just because a large chain store stocks the software doesn’t mean it’s the best software for your needs.

Impact on PC performance – This can be a tough area to gauge just by looking at the software description. Check out the ‘Minimum System Requirements’ to see which software needs more resources (e.g. memory). Also, consider installing a time-limited trial version of the software (if available) to test it for yourself before parting with your money.

Updates & upgrades – All anti-virus software should entitle you to download the latest information (updates) about any new viruses for free, for the duration of your license subscription. Some software products also entitle you to upgrade for free if a newer version of the software is released, whilst others make you pay an upgrade fee.

Price – Software licensing comes in many different configurations, so make sure you are comparing the same kind of software license when you are comparing prices. Factors that influence the price include how long your subscription is for (allowing you to download those free anti-virus information updates), how many PCs can use the one license and whether the software is being installed in a student/academic environment, home, business or not-for-profit entity.

Management – If you run a business with more than one PC, a ‘network edition’ may be right for you. This allows the updates to be downloaded by one of your computers and distributed to the rest of them, instead of each PC downloading the update. It also provides an overall view of whether the software is working on each PC and if any infections have been found. These features reduce the time (and cost) it takes to manage your anti-virus software across multiple computers.

Additional features – Many anti-virus software vendors now also produce ‘security suites’, which include firewalls and protection against spyware, malware and spam. It may be more cost effective and resource effective to run one product to handle all of these security aspects.

Trusted recommendation – There are many independent testing laboratories and software review websites that publish the results of their anti-virus software comparisons.

Your local Computer Troubleshooter also deals with a significant number of computers every year and will have developed a preference for the software they believe does the best job with the least amount of problems. Find out what software your CTer recommends – chances are they know it well and use it in their own business.

Talk to your local Computer Troubleshooter about the best anti-virus solution for your specific requirements.

Did you know that you can have all of the business benefits of a server, without physically owning a server? These benefits include a common storage location for shared information, email and calendaring features and remote access, to name a few. However servers are often thought of as an expensive initial purchase, requiring ongoing maintenance and future upgrades. If your business is seasonal you may find that your technology needs also peak and drop with demand, yet you have to allow for those peak demand times.

In most cases, a server is not running at its full capacity 100% of the time. Technology companies are taking advantage of this fact by letting businesses share servers. This is now made possible by a couple of key factors: ‘virtualisation’ of software (which enables multiple software systems to run on one physical box) and high-speed internet access. ‘Farms’ of high performing servers can be created that you can access when you need them … and only pay for that access when you need it.

Servers are located in specialised ‘data centres’ which are designed to house multiple computer systems. The location of the centre is irrelevant, as you access it via your high speed internet connection. The term ‘cloud computing’ has been coined, referring to the fact that in a computer network diagram, the internet is represented as a cloud shape. This kind of ‘on demand’ access has also given rise to terms like ‘Software as a Service’. This refers to your ability to pay for accessing software during the time period that you need it, for the number of staff you need it for at that time – instead of needing to purchase a license outright.

This centralised storage and processing capability is great if you have multiple locations that need to easily share information (e.g. use the same database), without you needing to build your own server infrastructure. If you grow your operations, you’re not faced with having to add additional server hardware. Your ‘server’ also benefits from the data centre’s other features such as power redundancy, backup and recovery strategy and systems monitoring and management. Often this underlying management is included as part of your access fee.

The downside to not having your server at your location is that your internet connection becomes critical, as it’s your only access link to your information. Consider channelling some of your cost savings towards paying for a business-grade and some redundancy (such as a second internet line or backup cellular internet access).

Talk to your local Computer Troubleshooter to see if your business would benefit from having its server in the cloud.

In construction terms, a firewall is a fire-resistant wall that subdivides a building to stop the spread of fire from one area to another. In computer terms, we need to stop communications between your computer and others on the internet. A total block of all internet communication would be useless though, so you need a way of selecting which type of communications you want to receive. For this, computer firewalls have rules and filters much like construction firewalls have access doors.

Firewalls provide an enhanced level of security that has now become the minimum standard to protect your computer. They do require a certain level of knowledge or a great computer support person, so talk to your local Computer Troubleshooter to ensure that you are protected.