You might be asking yourself, what can a website do for my business? As the web continues to progress, step back and think about how you use the web now and how you’re using it more and more every day. As more of us turn to the web as our primary resource for information, it’s not just about having real estate in cyberspace — it’s about being there when people need you. It’s having a personal presence that gives the web some life.
I don’t mean to use the phrase ‘web presence’ as some new term. There is already way too much terminology flying around that not enough people really understand.
But a presence is different than a site in that the focus is on being there.
Brochure Websites
Until the last couple of years, the focus was on having some flashy interactive brochure so when potential customers/clients/patients wanted to know about your company/firm/practice, they could find it. You could keep it up to date with all the information about your business.
Using the real estate analogy, this brochure site was like a structure. And really, a brochure site is set up like a structure: it’s a collection of HTML markup (code) and images that make the framing and facade of a site.
The Living Web
Some very talented people have been exploring what to do with this medium. The potential is and has been there to do so much more.
Lately, you see business owners, professionals, consultants and others making themselves more available on the web. It might be that they keep a blog or post articles to their website. Regular email newsletters let them remind their audience they’re there, even if that audience isn’t coming straight to their site. Of course, there has been an explosion of social media like Facebook and Twitter. Webcasts (video) and podcasts (audio) bring a personal voice (literally) to the web.
What do all of these outlets have in common? They’re ongoing and they give a feeling that those empty structures that used to be simple brochure sites are being occupied.
This is the living web.
Your business should participate in the living web so your target audience (or demographic, if you prefer) knows you’re part of the community. By establishing trust and presenting yourself as an authority, you become a genuine resource that people want to come back to. Over time, this will increase your ability to provide your product or service to willing consumers who really do need what you have.
By establishing a pattern of being there, your client-base will know you’re there and will come back to you when they need your help.
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