Building an Online Presence for Your Company or Organization

In earlier ages, business promotion meant traditional advertising. Print ads, radio and television spots, printed newsletters and direct mail campaigns fit the bill. Telemarketing was performed by real-life people. On-site promotions meant handing out samples, flyers, brochures, and printed materials. Perhaps it also meant placing window displays and point-of-purchase units at your location.

All that has changed.

The explosion of cyberspace has reshaped the way marketers operate. With the world, quite literally, at our fingertips, we must rethink the way we publicize our professions. Global markets have required us to scale up our tactics and techniques for advertising, product publicity, corporate identity, public relations, and more.

Do you have a business to promote? Here are some basic guidelines, to get you started.

Obtain an Online Domain.

First, you must have a working website and an email address. Your web and email addresses must reflect your business. If they end in AOL, YAHOO, HOTMAIL, or another popular domain, then the world will assume your organization is not ready for prime time.

Build a website. This can be simple and neat, but it must be professional. Your home page should provide an overview of your business and capabilities. Include your company name, address, telephone, email, and other essential contact information. Keep your website updated with current information and quality photographs. (Digital cameras make this simple!)

If you publish an organizational newsletter or magazine, be sure to include an online link for the latest issue. Simple conversion software may be downloaded free to convert a document file into a simple PDF for easy downloading. (I like Primo PDF. Check the Resources table for an online address link.)

Networking Works!

Join an online networking community. In fact, join several. Choose those communities that fit the demographics you wish to target for your marketing. (For example, I have found YUWIE and Link-Referral to be helpful resources for drawing readers to my online publications. See links in the Resources with this article.)

Begin blogging about your business, your company news, your products and services, and anything else you wish to promote. Incorporate your website link into every blog you publish.

Become active on the forums or bulletin boards. Include a link to your website in every posting.

Within each online community, join groups or clubs that relate to your business. Start new topics, and reply whenever you can. Again, include a link to your organization's website.

Be careful to avoid any semblance of spamming, as this can result in your being blocked or banned from a site. Nothing alienates forum or group monitors like spam! Your participation must be relevant to topics at hand, not merely promotional.

Of course, most forums and online bulletin boards include a separate category for self-promotion or web-listings. Here, you are usually free to publish overt promotional content. Read the guidelines, just to be sure!

Get Ready for Action!

As you drum up all of this cyber-attention, be sure to staff up to respond to the inquiries you are sure to generate with all of your online activity!

Congratulations! Your company has just gone global!