I recently received an e-mail from a woman overseas who wanted my help developing a social media strategy. I was really looking forward to speaking with her because she wanted to use social media in an interesting way--to collectively promote a group of experts from her country.

The time came for us to talk, and she wanted to know how she could use social networking to further her planned marketing efforts. I asked her for her website address, and she didn't have one.

Now, to not have any website and to be in the market for a social networking strategy is putting the cart before the horse.

Let's say, for example, that I had worked with this woman (which I didn't; instead, I asked her to create her website and then give me a ring) and she had great success with social networking. People liked her idea and they wanted to spread the word and send other people to her website; maybe she even got some great media coverage and visibility. Let's say all these things happened and she had no website for people to visit. What happens then?

The answer is: nothing. Your communication chain stops. People visit your Twitter page and they interact with you on Twitter, but you can't share much about your overall organization in a 160-character bio or a 140-character Tweet.

Many people remember the Martha Stewart debacle. I firmly believe that one of the tactics that played a major part in helping Martha hit the ground running when she was released was the website--MarthaTalks.com--that she was using in a blog-like manner.

Each time there was some information in the media that Stewart thought was skewed or she didn't quite agree with, she went to the site and updated it with her viewpoint and the facts. It was awesome. It gave the gawkers something to read, and it helped her maintain order in the court of public opinion. After all, we all know that a rumor left unchecked for more than 24 hours becomes truth in the mind of the public--and Martha just couldn't afford to have that happen.

Martha had her home base, and you need your own home base for three main reasons:

1. To serve as a place where people can turn to get detailed information about your company and its services. Based on that information, they can determine whether they want to do business with you.
    
2. To extend and round out your social networking conversations. Social networks round out people's experience of you and your brand. You need a website to flesh out the bigger picture.
    
3. You need a place to set the record straight. When the challenging times come (and they will), you need someplace where you call the shots. You need to feel free to say what you want to say and clear the air without worrying about another company's Terms of Service/Use.

This is part of what I refer to as "cleaning up before you invite company." How can you effectively invite company (using Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter) if your home base--your website--is not tidy, in order or even in existence at all? You can't.

Get your website ready for traffic before you start using social networking. Make sure it's working as a lead-generation tool, and you can convert interest into prospects, prospects into leads and leads into clients. And clients mean money.