Your company's online presence is no longer just your website. When someone searches for your business online, they are still likely to peruse your corporate site, but now they are also most likely going to check out your social media profiles, reviews of your products on third-party sites, blogs that mention your company and countless other relevant resources across the web. While you can dictate what's printed on your company website, you have very little control over the rest of the Internet. By joining the conversation in the social media sphere, you can at least influence what is said and how your company is perceived. Although you will never have complete control of your online image, you can help shape it in a positive way by remaining actively involved. You can address complaints on third-party review sites, reach out to bloggers who mention your brand and monitor the rest of the web for other opportunities. The reason why this is all so important is because of the way consumers now make their purchasing decisions.
