An “online presence” and a “presence online” are not the same thing.
The former tells me that an entity has taken up finite space in the online arena. It is usually static, unmoving, unchanging. It will accomplish the primary goals of any online marketing endeavor, but soon grows old and cold. Conversions start to drop. Visitors exit quickly, like they’ve walked into a graveyard. They know. This website isn’t breathing.
The latter indicates a feeling of presence. There is activity, relevance, and freshness. There is some energy here. And movement. There are conversations happening, dynamic changes, and indicators of what’s hot and what’s not. This entity has branches everywhere; in social networks like Facebook or MySpace, event postings on Upcoming or Eventful, and user initiated reviews on Yelp and CitySearch. This entity continues to take up more and more space, and has a history. Like a lived in house, artifacts abound.
Tags: influence, marketing, social interaction, social networks, strategy, user experience, web
