Maintaining a company’s relevance in an ever-evolving environment isn’t always the easiest thing. One of the challenges is that once you have built your website, how do you share it? How do you make sure that your audience can find you and that you are engaging them in a way that will create loyalty to your product or service? These questions pose an important topic: the difference between your Website and your overall Online Presence. Being on the web means more than having a URL, especially in a world of “Snaps” and “Status Updates.”

SOCIAL MEDIA

Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest, Snapchat…

  • Honestly, there are a ton of Social Media networks, many of which work in conjuncture with one another. Does your company really need to utilize all of these tools? Probably not. Check out Amy’s post To Tweet, or Not to Tweet? That is the Question to help you decide which platforms are right for you. The fact remains, however, that 42% of marketers report that Facebook—on its own—is critical or important to their business (Source: State of Inbound Marketing 2012). If you aren’t on some form of social media, it is fair to say that your competitors are. By maintaining an active social media presence, you make it easier to engage with your audience and maintain a foothold on the web. Even if you do not update your website daily, you will likely be updating your social media daily, if not more often. This drives traffic to your site, and allows you to engage with your audience in real-time.

REVIEW SITES

CitySearch, Yelp, Trip Advisor, Kudzu, Urban Spoon…

  • When 90% of consumers read online reviews before even visiting a business (source: http://bit.ly/2rV5UbH), it is safe to say that Review Sites maintain a general sway over a consumer base. Reviews—especially good reviews—help to build trust in a business. Even bad reviews, when handled and corrected appropriately, can help overall business performance. In to building trust and improving business in a tangible way, online review sites also get tons of traffic. Yelp, for example, has a global rank of 35 in the US regarding internet traffic (source: http://bit.ly/1TYFMSO). This means that hundreds of thousands of users are on Yelp alone, and this is a potential source funnel traffic to your business’ website.

BOOKMARKING SITES

Reddit, Digg, StumbleUpon, Delicious…

  • Sites like these can be essential to generating word-of-mouth marketing campaigns, as well as driving traffic directly to your existing company website. There are hundreds of options for this medium, which means finding a Bookmarking site tailored to your audience is easy. If you are having trouble finding a market for your product in the ocean of Facebook, it would be relatively easy to find a very specific specific topic thread. Macramé starter kits, for example, have an existent Reddit following, if you happen to specialize in macramé jewelry-making. Most importantly, Bookmarking sites have great value in search engine deliberations, which means your website’s page rank can improve dramatically.

To summarize, a website is only a part of the process. Your website is where your company “lives” on the internet, where your overall online presence is your reputation. By engaging in different online outlets and effectively maintaining your online profiles, you drive traffic to your website and, ultimately, your brand.

By: Jen G Anders, Lead Designer, Cosmital Designs