Do you have a live website or an ALIVE website?

So much goes into the launch of a website. The requirements, design, development, social media connections, proofing and technical decisions make everyone say ‘whew’ when it finally launches. Job complete. Your site is live.
Wrong.
The effort – measured in time and money – expended on your launch merely buys you a seat at the web marketing table. All of your competitors are there. Some are actively part of the conversation. Others are sitting back and letting others lead the discussion. You have just purchased a seat at the table. What are you going to do with it?
Unfortunately, too many businesses think that once you are up, you are done. Live means done, moving on to the next project.
But that is applying old thinking to new media. Old media was display advertising – like a yellow pages ad. Buy it, throw it out there, sit back.
It doesn’t work. Your site is in a coma.
Your website is a living, breathing document. It needs input from the business, from customers, from social media and industry. It needs to be alive, not live. Hook in, sync up, join the conversation. It’s better if you say a little something all the time than nothing for a long time. Think about what the personality of your organization is all about. Every business has one: how do you express that through the web? Is if fun, detailed, challenging, reassuring, or informative? Pick one and run with it. Your customers will reward you for it.