Minnesota, Get Your Business Online!

Google Offers New, FREE Tools to Help Small Businesses Build an Online Presence 

Soundbite and Script

September 9, 2011

ANNOUNCER:

GETTING ONLINE REPRESENTS AN ENORMOUS ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY FOR BUSINESSES IN MINNESOTA.  WHILE 97 PERCENT OF AMERICANS LOOK ONLINE FOR LOCAL PRODUCTS AND SERVICES, 59 PERCENT OF SMALL BUSINESSES IN MINNESOTA DO NOT HAVE A WEBSITE OR ONLINE PRESENCE.  STEVE GROVE, HEAD OF NEWS AND POILITICS FOR GOOGLE AND YOUTUBE, SAYS THE PERCEPTION THAT GETTING ONLINE IS COMPLEX, COSTLY AND TIME-CONSUMING HAS PREVENTED MANY SMALL BUSINESSES FROM TAKING THE FIRST STEP.  FOR THIS REASON, GOOGLE, ALONG WITH LOCAL PARTNERS, HAVE DESIGNED A FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND PROGRAM CALLED MINNESOTA, GET YOUR BUSINESS ONLINE. 

STEVE GROVE, HEAD OF NEWS AND POLITICS FOR GOOGLE AND YOUTUBE:

“The program is an easy, free and fast way to help businesses in Minnesota grow.  Our tools and resources make it simple for any business to create and publish a business web site.  Even Web hosting and a customized domain name are free for one year, courtesy of Intuit.  To learn more, go to Minnesota Get Online dot com.” 

ANNOUNCER:

BUSINESSES CAN TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE PROGRAM IN PERSON AT A SERIES OF GOOGLE-HOSTED EVENTS THROUGHOUT THE STATE OR ON THE WEB AT MINNESOTA GET ONLINE DOT COM.   I’M JON DRYDEN. 

ADDITIONAL SOUNDBITE, STEVE GROVE:

“Small businesses in Minnesota know how important the Internet is.  They use it every day as consumers.   Now they have a chance to easily and quickly get their business online. This is a real opportunity for businesses to find new customers, increase sales and grow.”