Finding your web mix
Posted on September 1, 2010
WordPress + Twitter + Email.
Tumblr + Flickr + Twitter.
Facebook + Twitter + simple landing page website.
These are samples of what I would call the web mix for a small business (or maybe for a larger business). That is, the combination of tools and platforms that you use to form your web presence.
You could say that a web mix is the same thing as a web presence. If you want to get picky and wordy about it, the web presence is what you build over time using the tools in your web mix.
In any case, one thing I like about the term web mix is that it sounds like something that would be fluid and easy to evolve. That’s a good thing. Situations change, and the web definitely changes, so your web mix should be able to adapt as needed over time.
So how do you find your web mix? I think there are a couple of key things to keep in mind:
- Which web tools fit the needs of your business?
- Which web tools fit the way you like to work?
The first one might seem obvious, but you’d be surprised how many small businesses use tools that don’t make any sense for their goals just because they’re trendy.
As for the second, it’s not all about having fun, but when faced with 3 technologies that will all help you accomplish your goals, it’s reasonable to choose the one you enjoy using. If you think you need to be using Twitter but you hate it and really like, then you might want to use Facebook.
One thing a lot of people miss in finding the right web mix is that you should know right up front that you’re never going to do everything there is to do on the web. Don’t try. Just choose the tools that work best for you and do a great job with those. And remember, you can always make adjustments if things aren’t working the way you expected.
