Much of the business marketing buzz these days is focused on social media, the new “It Girl”. So, with all this focus on social media, what’s the deal with having a website? Has it gone by the wayside? If you’re using social media to promote your business, do you still need a website? 

There are so many virtual places where you can project your business-- it can get confusing quickly. Do I use facebook? Twitter? Will blogging take the place of needing a website that I can update? If the choices aren’t overwhelming, the upkeep and participation of actually using social media can be. 

Social media is a tool to help you communicate and build relationships. Its provides a forum where you can share your expertise. Its purpose is to help you develop your image, to help you network and create trust in your business community, and to drive traffic to your website. Its a form of modern day communication and advertisement. It has the potential to be a powerful tool, but bear in mind that it requires active participation. For social media to work for you, you need to work for it. 

The glitz of social media has distracted some from thinking about their website. But, don’t be fooled! Your website is still the meat and potatoes (or the tofu and rice) of your online image. Your website is the virtual portal to your business. Its the front door to your shop. Your website is the go-to place where people interested in you or your product will check you out. You can do all the marketing (or social media-ing) in the world, but if you don’t have a shop set up where people can come and visit (and maybe even buy!), you’re doing yourself a disservice. 

And having an appealing, beautiful, evocative and updated site is as important as having a site at all. Who wants to buy something from a website that hasn’t been updated in the last 3 years? Keeping your website current lets your site visitors know that you care about your image, you care about appealing to them, and hopefully this will entice them to do business with you rather than the other guy with the ugly site last updated 3 years ago. 

So, here’s an example of how active participation in social media drove traffic to my website. The other day I posted a comment on an article I read on the The New York Times, By having Google Analytics connected on our website (Google Analytics is free and a great tool to see how affective your website is), I was able to see the significant spike in traffic to our site just from the one comment I posted. Now, not all those site visitors are knocking on my virtual door to buy what I have to sell...at least not right away. 

Social media is one of the ways in which you invest in your business. The payoffs aren’t immediate, and are often indirect. It is a tool to help you promote your business and drive traffic to your website. Just don’t forget about your website.