What follows is a semi-hypothetical scenario. No names have been mentioned to protect the horrendously guilty.

A colleague of mine has just been introduced a businessman, head of an established business, and with a great record of achievement in his industry. However, times have changed and business isn’t all it could be. Time, therefore, to take a new look at marketing.

At Crimson Leaf we work on the premise that the company website is the hub of any 21st Century marketing campaign, particularly the blogging function. The public is directed to the blog by means of various social media, advertising and word of mouth. The blog is kept updated, relevant and should showcase the work that the blogger produces.

On carrying out an initial assessment, the client was asked to comment on one or two aspects of marketing. Answers are paraphrased below:

Website:

I don’t believe a flash website ever got me any business in the past.

Facebook:

I’ve got a Facebook page for personal use.

Linkedin;

I’m on Linkedin.

Twitter:

It’s a sort of kiddie’s form of Facebook.

Blog:

What’s a blog?

Taking the answers in order it’s worth making the following observations:

While a flash website may not have generated past business it’s worth noting that this man did not have one. He had a non-optimised online business card which was last updated in 2006. Even if the site had been outstanding but not successful, we would have to try to analyse why not. A good site that no one reads may not get you business; a bad site will certainly lose you business.

The personal use Facebook page is closed to public view. The client was unaware of the fact that Google ranks Facebook highly, and having a business page with his connections supporting him would significantly raise his profile.

The client stated he was on Linkedin, the business networking site. Having examined his entry it is clear he was telling the truth. However, he has not bothered to fill in his profile, provide a biography, or even advise the world what he does for a living. He has one connection on the site. He has not even filled in the name of his business.

Twitter – Increasingly businesses are using Twitter to provide improved customer services to their clients. Tweeting provides a channel for feedback and the provision of company news, as well as providing a personal identity for a corporate entity. People buy people.

The client is unaware of the term “blog” and upon further questioning did not see the need for it, nor the real point of it.

At the head of this article I said the case was semi-hypothetical. In fact the majority of what has been written does apply to one client, and only one aspect comes from another.

No wonder business is booming!