Seriously, I am asking. I am not sure that I am sold one way or another. As social media begins to grow-up and enter kindergarten if you will, it has redefined how businesses think about marketing, communication with customers and employees, and brand portability.

So where do websites fit it? I think it is a justified question that will spark many different opinions.

Gone are the days where what the company says goes. For some it was replaced with customers speaking their mind—both good and bad, while for others it was replaced with people reading or watching but not participating. Perhaps there is no reason for them to participate or perhaps the audience that is drawn in isn’t the talkative type.

As social media matures, and more businesses are relying on it for different reasons more people are keeping their opinions to their self. Social media tools like Facebook and Twitter are implementing functionality to accommodate this. You can now ‘like’ comments or retweet posts so you don’t have to express your own opinions, just agree with others or be free to share another’s opinion with your audience.

So again I ask you, do you really need a website?

I don’t think there can be a clear cut yes or no answer until ‘website’ is defined. Just because you have a domain name, hosting, images, and content does not mean you have a space worthy of being called a website. Also, how do blogs fit into this? Blogs have become more predominate than websites and are preferred by viewers. Is a blog a website, or is it a part of your website, or is it a part of your social media efforts?

See there is no clear cut answer to this question. The more you try to answer it, the more questions that arise.

I suspect if done right, one could get away without a website. What is right? I don’t know, but I would love to see some attempts! And if you have the right PR team I'm sure you would get press coverage.

I was reading Steve Pavlina’s series about how to network with busy people. The article itself is great. He goes over a lot of common sense things, uses great analogies and stories to prove his point. His main point throughout the series is to help you see how a busy person perceives the way you are trying to contact them. While I was reading this, it got me thinking that a lot of the points Steve makes, are the same points that companies tend to be ignorant to in their approach to marketing.

Every company’s target market is comprised of “busy people.” Busy people are very valuable, but they are busy for a reason – they have their own life, their own challenges and every company wants to connect with them. Because of this, you need to accept up front that busy people will only give you their attention if they see value in it. The mere fact that you have targeted them is not a good enough reason.

People are overwhelmed with hundreds of thousands of different communications every day – email, text messaging, online ads, phone calls, television commercials, point of purchase displays, and the list goes on and on. They do not have the capacity to treat every communication experience as equally important, nor do they want to! Just because you think your product or service is important and that this busy person needs to hear what you are saying does not mean they will feel that way.

Busy people pride themselves on being unique – not fitting into this category or that. They look for products and services offered by companies they are able to trust to feed this desire. By learning to be the company that busy people trust to consistently help them feel this way, you have the potential to become the company that sets the standards instead of one of the ones striving to achieve standards set by others.

Trust is what keeps a business alive and allows it to run smoothly. With trust, businesses thrive. Without it, businesses suffer and corruption takes over. It takes time to build trust with a busy person. There is a good chance your communications will be blown off just because it is their unconscious habit. Another possibility is that you may be using the wrong medium for the message you are trying to convey, but that is a whole other post.

Busy people would rather experience life than listen to what you have to say. They want to enjoy the things they do and the people in their life, so timing plays an important role in how and when you communicate with them. People typically do not like being lied to or treated like they are just another transaction so authenticity is the best approach.

The Authenticity Approach is the best way to connect with busy people and to run your business. Good or bad, the truth always comes out. Being authentic will allow busy people to relate to your company which builds trust. When they trust you, they want work with you.