Sanders Media

Whenever someone contracts me to build their website, they often don’t have an idea what they want. Here are some things to think about.

Who do you want to attract? Think about who your best customers are. Your site should cater to them. A good example would be MySpace and LinkedIn. They cater to two completely different demographics. As a result, their sites are designed and arranged accordingly.

How are you going to use the website? Some companies don’t need their website to generate leads. The site is a brochure for their expertise. Other companies rely heavily on online leads. They need their website to attract customers. In other words, the website is part of their sales force.

How will a website advance your company’s goals? Websites won’t reach their full potential when companies don’t think through the process. You must decide how you want it to integrate with your overall company mission.

If you take the time to prepare, a website can be one of your best investments.

I know most of you have heard of MySpace and Facebook, and you may think they are for people with too much time on their hands. Have you considered how they can help your business? You know the old adage, “It’s not what you know, but who.” Well, the best way to meet that “who” is to expand your network. 

MySpace and Facebook, along with LinkedIn, are providing new ways to find new clients, employees or professional contacts. While MySpace and Facebook may be more geared to the “social” aspect of social networking, they can still be useful. LinkedIn may be the best solution for professionals because it is strictly for business.

It never hurts to expand your network, and the internet has made it easier than ever.

One thing you’ll see a lot of on most blogs is a badge or two. On the web, a badge refers to a graphic that is used to promote an issue or product. 

You’ll see two badges on this site. Each blog post has one that allows you to bookmark the entry at sites like Del.icio.us, Reddit, Technorati and others. There is another one on my About page that links to my LinkedIn profile. If you read my other two blogs, empireofgeek.com and jonathansanders.net, you’ll see me promoting the EFF, or Electronic Frontier Foundation, with web badges.

Web badges allow you to help promote things that are important to you. On the flip side, creating badges for customers to put on their sites is a great way to promote your brand. If people like your product, they will absolutely want to promote you. It is a very easy way to advertise, and it costs almost nothing.