We are now all members of the technology age. Some people and businesses have jumped into this era with enthusiasm and excitement about the opportunities the World Wide Web has to offer. Still others have been hesitant and unwilling to expose their companies, and themselves, to a loss of control and privacy.
As the pressure mounted for companies to establish an online presence, software and security companies scrambled for ways to preserve user privacy and at the same time, make it easier for business owners to create and load attractive, effective, websites. Today, estimates suggest that more than 50 percent of all businesses in the world have active websites, or engage in at least one social media networks.
In the past few years, the technology has taken on a more social side. Instead of relying just on an impersonal, attractive websites, business owners are now spreading the word about themselves and their companies and their products through social networks like Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, LinkedIn, etc.. These sites allow owners to interact directly with their clients and partners, and be more up-to-date with them. Business owners can provide updates in a timely manner and even introduce new products and special deals without less to no cost on advertisements. Having fans and followers thereby spreading the word about the business exponentially. Blogs and tweets are emerging all over the place. These are still another way to spread the word about the different products, services and addressing customer questions in a public forum and link exchange.
All of this amazing, cost-effective advertising should leave many business owners confident that they have done everything possible to attract and keep new customers, and to keep existing customers content. There are a few key things to be aware of before launching a company online with its own website:
- The layout should be made simple and eye-catching with some white space to make the features stand out.
- There should be navigational tools that assist viewers to navigate easily and logically throughout the pages.
- The content should represent the product and/or services the business offer with all links available.
- The language, grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure should be flawless and easy to understand.
- The pages should load quickly, and hosted with a near 100 percent uptime server.
While there are business owners with the skills needed to produce a professional web presence, most will benefit from the services of a professional for creating and maintaining their online reputations.
If you look closely at your competitors' websites you may discover that while some are excellent, others are less professional, and some are just an embarrassment. Anything that the business owner offer in the business website, can be, and have a possibility to be posted on blogs, linked and tweeted by people, reviewed, commented, and so forth. This is the fact that anything that is available on the internet is publicly viewed, and anything could be possible. And the outcome can be good or bad.
In fact, a website may be the only exposure your client has to your company. People will look elsewhere if the information on your site is hard to read, or difficult to navigate. If the articles are disorganized or full of poor grammar people may give a certain disrespect. A business owner should dress professionally and speak correctly if they are face-to-face with a customer, and a website should reflect the same professionalism because a website is how people around the world will judge the business owner and the company itself.
Another caution is how to use the social networks to communicate with customers. While it is great to take that bold step into the era and start using the communication tools. A bad review of your company or your products will spread like wildfire with just the click of a mouse.
A professional can make all the difference in how a business is perceived in the online world. They know how to use these different sites to get the word out about your business without risking your professional reputation. They know how to address aggressive comments without putting your company in a bad reputation, and how to promote it in a way that will reflect the professional image you want the world to see.