Why your online business presence can’t be stagnant.
The other day I was looking up a business and went to their website. I searched around a bit on the website and saw case studies from 2001. It made me stop and think about the company. Do I want to engage with a company that has 10-year-old case studies? I then went to check out the president’s profile on Linkedin. The president’s profile was long and cumbersome. I couldn’t get past the first 20 words. The president of the company also had a Twitter feed so I went there. And look – there is active activity on it and a small following.
Would I do business with them? My initial reaction was no. The company seems disorganized, unprofessional and they don’t seem to understand the importance of a cohesive online business strategy. Yes, I appreciate that business owners are busy but these days that’s no excuse. Your online presence needs to be seamless and strategic. The digital strategy (company website, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn) is a fantastic way of communicating the latest news and information, but all the parts need to be cohesive, current and have continuity.
Continuity is one of the most important things to have in your online presence. Without it, you look you have just jumped on board the social media band wagon and don’t understand how to make the most out of each social media platform. As you add new parts to your plan (such as social media profiles) you have to be diligent about making sure all the parts match up. This means using the same tone and language across all profiles, making sure the content matches up, and treating all updates with the same level of immediacy. If you post an update to Twitter about a new project, you need to make sure you’ve also updated it on your website.
In addition, you need to think strategically about your online presence as a whole, of which your website is the base. A client may find you via Twitter or LinkedIn, but all roads lead back to the website. The website is where the detailed information is, which is what people are really looking for. If the information is outdated, it makes you look like you don’t know what you’re doing, or that you don’t value your online presence or your customer’s time.
Think about your online business strategy – Do you have one and is it working for you? If you don’t have one, perhaps its time to develop one. If you are looking to do so, give us a call. We would love to help you find new ways to expand your digital presence. Oh and in case you are wondering, I didn’t reach out to the company above… a lost sales lead indeed.
I agree with you, Sarah.
It’s something I call, “having a dusty website.” You haven’t updated it for so long, there’s virtual dust everywhere.
Another clue of a dusty site is a Press page where the last update was a few years ago. Not good.
When I speak to groups, one of the things I mention is how important the sense of stability is with your business.
We’re in a time of great instability right now and people would prefer to do business with companies that seem fully engaged.
It may not be fair to judge a company on criteria like this, but it happens everyday.
Thanks, Mike. That’s exactly it – having a dusty website! You’re right about the press page. It’s one of the first things I look at on a company website. If it’s not up to date, I start to wonder why. Companies simply have to make time to keep everything current.