Small businesses, big Web.

When Werner and Uschi Beck opened a coffee house in Bradenton last year, they knew a Web site was a must-have to market their business. Now, the Becks want to do even more on the Internet to market their business Cool Beans Cafe & Arts on Third Avenue East.

In a technology-driven world, that's to be expected, says David Doty, senior vice president of thought leadership and marketing at Interactive Advertising Bureau in New York. "More small businesses are understanding the benefits of advertising not only through their own sites but by building a reputation online," Doty said. "You want to make sure you are where the consumer is and more and more the consumer is online." The Becks, like owners of other locally owned businesses, are turning to social networking sites to gain online exposure. Cool Beans' business profile is featured on a Tampa Bay business network, localshops1.com, and the Becks plan to advertise on MySpace and Facebook by the end of the year. "A lot of the younger people, they look on these Web pages, and that can help us reach more people," Werner Beck said. The Becks said since marketing their business on localshops1.com in August they've had inquiries from areas beyond Bradenton. "We have had people from Tampa and Sarasota calling to find out about us," Uschi Beck said. Ester Venouziou, founder of localshops1.com, started the site in August. Venouziou, a St. Petersburg resident, prefers independent business and wanted to find a way to help promote and support them. "If you spend money in your neighborhood it's more likely to stay in your neighborhood," Venouziou said. Localshops1.com has networking pages for Manatee, Sarasota, Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco and Polk counties. The site has 560 businesses listed and 350 registered business members. Business memberships range between $200 to $350 a year. "When I talk to businesses, they're becoming more aware they need to be more proactive in online marketing," Venouziou said. MySpace and Facebook offer build-it-yourself advertisements that allow companies to target a specific audience based on users' interests. The two sites also are appealing to small businesses because they can set the price they're willing to pay each time a user clicks on their ad. "We're relatively new in business, so there's only so much we can afford at this point," Beck said. "We're willing to spend $300 to $400 a month on advertising." Elaine Cordeau, owner of Elaine's Bridal Boutique at 5238 State Road 64 E., said she spends about 75 percent of her marketing budget on the Bradenton store's Web site. The remainder goes toward marketing on theknot.com, an wedding planning site, as well as bridal shows and direct mailers. The bridal store also has a MySpace profile, and Cordeau writes two bridal blogs on the free Web site, blogger.com. Cordeau said the blogs give her a more personal forum to connect with current or potential clients. "I think that a blog makes you more real to the customer as a small business owner," Cordeau said. Doty said blogs are becoming an effective marketing tool because it engages the consumer. "The two-way dialogue is becoming more and more important," Doty said. "When you engage your consumers in a community-like setting you're doing more than just marketing to them. It also helps to build loyalty."

According to the Interactive Advertising Bureau, online advertising revenue for the first six months of 2008 reached $11.5 billion, a 15.2 percent increase from the first half of 2007. In 2007, Internet ad revenues totaled more than $21 billion, and, according to the Interactive Advertising Bureau, online ad spending among small businesses comprised more than double that of large and medium-sized companies. At Mexicali Border Cafe in Bradenton, General Manager Joe Martin said the restaurant offers printable discounts for customers via its MySpace profile, e-mails and Valpak.com. "Our e-mail coupons work phenomenal for us," said Martin, who estimated the restaurant e-mails about 3,000 coupons a month. Martin said he was unsure about how many were used on a monthly basis. Martin said marketing via social networking sites and e-mail is an affordable way to stay competitive compared to television ads. "It's a question of how deep are your pockets compared to Outback and Carrabba's, who have TV commercials that can just whack you," Martin said. "We were doing TV commercials with Bright House, but we are a small business and we just couldn't afford to do it anymore."

James Curren, assistant professor of marketing at USF Sarasota-Manatee, said maintaining a strong online presence is important for staying competitive. "If people can't find you online, they're going to find a whole lot of competing offers," Curren said. "The more opportunities you have to allow people to find you the better." However, Curren said content and moderation is just as important. "It still needs to be managed effectively," Curren said. "If consumers are bombarded, sooner or later the promotions these businesses are trying to do may turn into white noise. Then the consumer is not paying attention when it should count."

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