Consult Keith

Another late post, I know. It’s this pesky business of trying to do some work. I particularly like it when the work is the stuff I do for free. Yep. I think everyone should have at least one pro-bono account in their roster and I’m drinking my own Kool-Aid on that.

My client is in the process of building and launching a new website. This has been fun – a white sheet of paper, SEO built in from the ground up, lots of open minds (OK, maybe that’s not your idea of fun but I’m digging it). But the real fun is yet to begin since we’re just starting to populate the site with information.

“Where is this all going to come from?”, she wondered on our call. That’s when we talked about a pretty significant paradigm shift she, like most people in digital, was going to have to make.

I told her she had to stop thinking of the site as hers or her organization’s. Instead, realize that it belongs to your community – your users, your members, and those who you want to become part of either of those two groups.  We went on to talk about link-building, guest-blogging, and how “viral” doesn’t mean vaccinations.

The important thing here is all businesses have to embrace the Chinese proverb on setting things we love free to see if they return.  By opening up your site to the conversations, you don’t lose control – you gain engagement.

Thoughts?

Filed under: Consulting, digital media Tagged: | Add new tag, advice, business, business thinking, Consulting, digital media, Internet marketing, media, paradigm shift, Reality checks, search engine optimization, Web Design and Development, Website