***Does My Business Need a Web Presence?

The Internet has become a vital component of any business marketing plan. Even if you are a local based business and feel that your business is solely on word of mouth, a website and overall web presence is needed. People (clients and prospects) use the Internet to vet their service and product providers. They will go to the Internet to learn more about you and your business. You therefore want to create a site that will give you credibility and demonstrate your expertise in your field of practice.

On the web you will see different types of websites. The most common are “landing pages” or “squeeze pages”; “sales pages”; “branding sites” and “e-commerce sites or online stores”. Depending upon your goals, determines the type of site that you need. Briefly, a landing page has the sole purpose of collecting information, typically email and name. A sales page is focused on selling one service or product. A branding site is a more comprehensive site that reads more like a company brochure. An e-commerce site or online store, is focused on selling products.

Initially, a branding site is what most companies start with. There are many great web designers available to build sites, as well as many hosting companies that have site builder tools built in so that you can create your own site. You do want a professional appearance, but it can be simple. Currently, I recommend building a blog site. A Wordpress blog can look like a website but optimizes more easily because it is a blog. It also ties into your other social media easily. When building a Wordpress blog you want to build it on your own domain with your own paid hosting account. I recommend and use HostMonster.com for hosting. It is very affordable, support is accessible and it is dependable service.

The other piece of your web presence is your social media presence. Social media sites include: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, SelfGrowth.com; and many, many more. To get started I highly recommend LinkedIn. It is a professional network and another place that people look to verify your credentials. You can ask your contacts to join your network and to add recommendations to your profile. I know that as people seek me out, it is one of the places they are looking to decide if I am the right coach for them. The fact that I have several recommendations has been very helpful. The second recommendation for people in the holistic field is Self Growth. Their focus is on personal development and wellness. On this site you can build an expert page and also build a network of contacts. Please be sure to look me up on all of these sites. I would be glad to connect to you. On SelfGrowth.com you can also post your articles. Articles are a great credibility builder and marketing tool. Having your articles available to others on article directories adds to your expertise. Why do you want to be an expert? People want to work with experts, knowledgeable people. These sites all allow you to build this credibility publicly.

Facebook and Twitter are both useful sites for growing additional networks of people and staying in touch with those networks. Twitter has the ability for local searches so that you can connect with people that geographically local to you.

Creating a web presence can take time and managing social media accounts adds to that time. It is important to create a web strategy so that you are building a web presence that works for you. Take it one step at a time, starting with the website or blog, and then build from there. There are many more pieces to the web presence puzzle, that I will continue to discuss. With each of these media you are still able to share your authentic self and communicate your unique approach to your clients and prospects. You can build relationships via the web that can be helpful to your business and at the same time you have to be smart about it.