Online presence refers to your website as well as your social media networking presence. Only twelve or so years ago it was difficult to sell a website to a business. Lots of people thought that the internet was just a fad and it would never catch on. That is no longer the problem and almost all business owners agree that having an online presence is important.
Have you tried Googling yourself or your business? If you haven’t then try doing so after you’ve finished reading this article. One expectation that your customers will have about your business is that it should be online. If it isn’t then you may not be keeping up to date alongside your competition. Having an internet presence is every bit as much about marketing your business on the world wide web as it is about having a simple point of reference for your customers online. An online presence adds credibility and can increase the chances of people buying from you. In addition, internet marketing can be less expensive long term than traditional forms of marketing.
But having an online presence doesn’t just mean having a website? That’s right. There are online directories (that’s part of your web presence right?) and then there’s Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and other social media networking sites. They are all useful for meeting new contacts and spreading the word about your business. So why not use everything that is at your disposal. Your customers will be doing everything that they can to get ahead of you and research shows that the number of businesses that have an online presence is ever increasing.
