Back in December, the folks at the Greater Richmond Partnership had a great idea — use their connections with hundreds of businesses and associations in the area, then add a social media component. The result is Richmond JobNet, a site meant to connect job seekers in Richmond with companies in Richmond seeking workers.

RichmondJobNet comes out of the Partnership’s 90-day action plan, which is Richmond’s proactive response to the declining economy nationwide.  In addition to being a compilation of job boards and tips, the site also lists career and networking events as well as specific resources to show entrepreneurs how to start their businesses in any of Greater Richmond’s localities.

The site also includes a social media component. The social media tie-in is critical — it encourages people to use tools like LinkedIn and Twitter to network and find job openings.  When job seekers engage in face-to-face networking as well as online networking, they are able to take a more well-rounded approach to finding a job.

Job seekers can also register to receive a free subscription to a career portal where they can take career assessments that match your interests and values with potential occupations, search and apply to jobs online, and post their resumes for review by Richmond employers.

• Read the 90-day action plan update from the Greater Richmond Partnership that includes information about Richmond JobNet
• Visit the Richmond JobNet web site
• Follow Richmond JobNet on Twitter
• Richmond Times-Dispatch: New Web site for job seekers in Richmond area
• WRVA news story: Listen to the announcement from WRVA
• Chesterfield business blog: Read the blog post announcing Richmond JobNet
• On TV: WRIC airs segment on Richmond JobNet
• On TV: Greg Wingfield is interviewed on Richmond This Morning on CBS6

The blog has been quiet lately, and now you can see why.  Two sites in two weeks.

We’ve just launched Conner Gwyn Schenck’s new web site. Conner Gwyn Schenck is a construction law firm with offices in Raleigh and Greensboro, North Carolina. The firm practices contract law and litigation, but also provides corporate services and has even been involved in public policy work.

Our role in the project was coding and development (not design this time). The design was done by an ad agency in North Carolina, and we coded standards-compliant templates and put the site into Expression Engine. Features include a site search and a keen custom script that lets you key in your address and get directions from Google Maps.

We’re doing more and more development work for ad agencies and PR firms, which is a growing part of our business. Our content management system of choice is Expression Engine, which allows clients to manage their own content and multiple blogs — all on one site. If your company develops stellar creative and need development that’s just as detail-oriented, let us know.

Today, we launched the new site for Beechwood Builders, a local construction management firm and general contractor here in the Richmond, VA area.

It’s always nice to work with folks who take as much pride in their work as we do, and I can tell you from the photoshoots that we’ve done with them that their work is top-notch.  Perhaps my favorite is a total exterior and interior remodel of a beach home in Deltaville, Virginia.  The wood floors they installed throughout were amazing, and you can sit in the screened in porch they added on the second floor and see the Chesapeake Bay (see photos of this in the “Projects” area of their site).

If you’re in Virginia, give the folks at Beechwood a call or an e-mail. They have experience building everything from multi-million dollar apartment developments to custom homes to decks and additions. I’ve already talked to them about doing some work to my home, and perhaps you’d like to do the same.

See the Beechwood Builders web site

For many companies, 2008 has brought an intense slowing in business. Whether you’re running a national e-commerce web site or a local retail business, there are some common marketing practices that can help improve sales.  Guaranteed.

Download the 2009 Online Marketing Plan for free

So what is this 2009 Online Marketing Plan?

I spend hours everyday researching marketing techniques and doing business online.  About a month ago, I got the idea to publish a one-page “laundry list” of online marketing tactics to grow your business in 2009. If you own or run a business, all of these topics should be on your mind for 2009.

So what isn’t the 2009 Online Marketing Plan?

Honestly, I could write a book about how to use each of these tactics in your marketing mix.  I don’t have that kind of time, so I’m hoping that by planting the seed, you’ll do your own research and figure out what’s best for your company.  Or, you could hire me to put a plan together for you…

The online marketing plan isn’t a detailed set of instructions on how to implement these — just a list to ponder and research. For instance, the list I’m offering for download doesn’t say that you can combine a blog and Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn to send qualified traffic to your web site, and it doesn’t say that you can use pay-per-click ads on Facebook to generate high-converting traffic to your web site, even though these are good ways to promote a web site.

How do I use the 2009 Online Marketing Plan?

This list is unique for a couple of reasons.  First, the list is all-inclusive — it includes all tactics that you need to consider in 2009.  No fluff and no tactics that don’t work.  if it’s not on the list, there’s a good probability that you shouldn’t worry with it.

Second, there’s a mixture of tactics that you pay for and FREE tactics to generate site traffic.  Social networking and social media sites are a great way to generate free traffic.  I’ve included the high-impact ones on the list, and there may be other industry-specific sites that you could leverage.

The point here is that you don’t always have to “pay to play.” Larger companies are ignoring social media sites and that’s your opportunity to be there first and win.

A few parting points of encouragement

• 2009 can be a year of growth. All you need to do is find the opportunities in your industry. Are you a local brick-and-mortar merchant where your competitors don’t have an online presence? Establish a simple web site and market it! Are you in a highly competitive e-commerce niche? Make your marketing tactics work together to engage your customers.
• Learning about online technologies and marketing tactics is easy. There’s no excuse for not taking time to learn — there are millions of great blogs and sources that you can learn from. Need suggestions? I regularly post articles of interest to this blog, and you can subscribe to the RSS feed or have posts e-mailed to you. You can also follow me on Twitter.
• Form meaningful relationships with your customers. Today’s social media sites make it easy to form meaningful relationships with customers. Remember that good business on social networking sites is not always about advertising. Sharing information can not only help others, it gives you credibility and a sense that you’re “real.”  Offline, rewarding your best customers with small personal touches can mean the difference between your business’ survival and, well, not.

Get it now: Download the 2009 Online Marketing Plan for free