This document discusses the importance of having a website for a business. It provides several reasons why a website is important, including allowing customers and potential employees to find information about a company, making a good first impression, and directing web traffic. The document also discusses the importance of social media networks like Facebook and Twitter for connecting with potential customers. It provides examples of how the company GRIP has helped design professional websites for bus companies that improved their online presence and first impressions.

1. Building a Web Site: How Is It Important to your Business? Speaker: Ryan Kelly, Community Spec Southeastern Regional Operators Meeting 4:30-5:15 PM January 14, 2010

3. Why Do I Need a Website? It's one of the most important and most frequently asked questions of the digital business age.

4. Why Do I Need a Website? You need a website so that customers, potential employees, anyone involved with your business, and even investors can easily find out information about your company.

5. Why Do I Need a Website? You have one shot at a first impression. With a well designed website, even the smallest company can exude the professionalism of a much larger company.

6. Why Do I Need a Website? Seven out of ten solo businesses do not have a website. Why not? 80% of all Americans spend more time on the internet than they do watching television. Statistics from USA Today

7. Why Do I Need a Website? Special pages on your website, like a blog, will help direct web traffic to your site. People using internet search engines to find very specific answers can find them on your blog.

8. If you have a business, you should have a website. Period. No question. Without a doubt.

9. What are Social Networks? Networks connect things, whether it is power lines connecting the power plants to your home, or a network of roads connecting Washington DC with Los Angeles. “Social Networks” connect people to people using the internet.

10. What are Social Networks? You’ve probably heard of websites like Myspace, Facebook, or Twitter, even if you don’t know exactly what they do. Their purpose is to allow people, bands, and even businesses to connect with anyone they want to.

11. Why Do I Need to be Part of a Social Network? People talk, and by making these social connections, they could be talking about you! This is a further way to have people discover your business and direct them to your website.

16. Share the human side of your company. (Pictures are the most clicked on links.)

18. What GRIP and Plan of Action Have Done Together ACR Coach isa company in Starkville, Mississippi which boasts eight deluxe motorcoaches and two sleeper coaches and serves more than 500,000 clients. Here’s their website.

19. GRIP and Plan of Action And here is the more professional website design that GRIP produced for them.

20. GRIP and Plan of Action Escot Bus Lines isa charter bus company which originated in St. Petersburg, Florida in 1983. Here’s their website:

21. GRIP and Plan of Action And here’s a look at the site GRIP put together for Escot Bus Lines:

22. GRIP and Plan of Action Here’s even a site designed by GRIP for the Southeastern Regional Motorcoach Operators:

23. Why Do I Need a Website? As you can see, the profession-alism of a website can make or break a first impression of a company, no matter the quality of the service provided or the product produced.

25. Promotional Material Creation – CD design – Brochures – Handbills – Posters – Magazine ads – Newsletters

26. Web Site Design and Creation – Web site hosting

27. Photography – Editing with Photoshop CS4

29. Corporate Publicity

30. National and Local Newspaper Campaigns

31. Proactive Media Outreach

32. New Product and Service Positioning, Publicity and Reviews Management

33. Press Event Planning and Management

34. Electronic Press Kits

35. Press Material Creation