FARMINGTON – The University of Maine Cooperative Extension’s Franklin County Office will conduct a two-part workshop to give businesses the essential tools to make use of one of the fastest growing marketing trends on the Internet: viral and social network media.

The workshop will run from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday and Friday, May 14 and 15, in Room 102, UMF Computer Center. To register, call the Extension office at 778-4650.

“It’s more than simply having a Web site anymore,” said Extension Educator Marc Edwards. “User-generated content, blogs, podcasts, Web 2.0 applications can play an important role in your online presence.”

Marketing and Internet professional Kelly Cotiaux will lead the workshop with Edwards. Cotiaux is with Sephone Internet Solutions based in Bangor and has experience in tourism and small business marketing on the Internet.

Especially important according to Edwards is an online presence for tourism and related businesses. Over half of adult Internet users in the United States watched a video on sites like YouTube or took a virtual tour of a location. Internet users who download Podcasts nearly tripled from 2006 to 2008. “This,” said Edwards, “is where these businesses need to be.”