This post is about Websites. Websites you may ask? Every business has a website. What could possibly be new? Plenty! When managers and owners leave their offices at 5, or 7 or 10pm, they switch to home life and forget about work for a few hours, but their businesses keep on communicating. 10 years ago leading up to the dot com crash, a business’s website was thought of as a glorified neon OPEN sign: Yes, we do exist and we’re open.
This mentality still largely exists but is being forced to change with the popular acceptance of corporate social media. This means that a business’s “Internet signage” is moving up to the front lines as customers using social media develop opinions about businesses and then share them online. Websites therefor must redefine their purpose while beefing up their substance. They can no longer be thought of as a feature sheet, with the real communications work being done in person. Your business’s presence on the Internet is the first impression you make to anyone who wants to find out who your are. That’s why Googling has become a Verb.
Businesses that realize this important “Influencing” stage of customer acquisition deploy Internet marketing strategies like the Navy Seals. Strong. Focused. Results Oriented. They understand that their online appearance will make or break a future sale or conversion. It’s not enough to have a website anymore. That website must be updated often with new, revelent, and interesting information to communicate to customers that something exciting is going on. Social media can then be utilized to form a community around that dynamic content, engaging conversation about this exciting business.
