Back in the day, savvy business owners would have a website built for their company. Maybe at best it would provide a wonderful, effective presentation of the business’ information, or maybe it even had a shopping cart so the company could sell their wares online. Pretty cool.
As with everything else these days, things are changing, including web design, web marketing and online branding. To truly have an effective online presence you have to genuinely connect with your customers.
Oh No! I have to talk to people?
Don’t worry, this doesn’t mean that the CEO necessarily has to be on a first name basis with every customer or personally respond to hundreds of emails every day. But, using social media such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn is a great way of listening to what customers are saying about your industry. Using social media along with blogging is a great way to give your company a personal voice to reach the masses, let them know how your company is providing effective solutions, and just as important, that you’re listening.
Get on the bus!
Using these tools to effectively communicate to your readers will establish you as an expert in your field and a trusted authority. This is a good thing! If you’re not already taking advantage of blogging and social media, now is the time! If you don’t, within a year you’ll have a harder time catching up to your competitors who are using these tools.
