Why you need a Website to Market your Business
” I don’t need a website, just some of that Social Media stuff.”
Oh Really?
As a Web Designer & Social Media Consultant, we get asked all the time by clients to “do” Social Media for them without ever first having their bases covered. In fact, this has become an all too common theme over the last few years – especially with the exploding popularity of Social Media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest & YouTube to name just a few.
The article below by Azzure Collier at Constant Contact sums things up quite nicely. If you look at Social Media as a whole, many consider it an excellent “funnel” with which to attract an audience and hopefully, potential customers. However, a problem often arises once you’ve attracted this new audience, where do you send them? You need a focal point (website) to act as the glue that brings them straight to your virtual front door. Without a web site, you’re just spinning your cyber-wheels – mac5.ca.
The Why
Small businesses have a lot of options to market their business, but not enough time to use them all. You have to pick and choose what you spend your time and money on.
So I wasn’t surprised to hear this question during a recent webinar: “Do small businesses really need a website? Is it worth it to spend money on them when you can use Social Media for free?”
Social media is a critical part of any business’s marketing mix, but your marketing strategy shouldn’t rely only on social media tools. Here are 3 reasons why you also need a website for your business to market effectively.
1. Not everyone uses Social Media to find information about Businesses
A Pew Internet and American Life study showed that among Internet users who sought information about local businesses, 36% used a search engine to find it, 16% looked to websites, and 3% turn to social media.
When consumers turn to a search engine for information, they’re looking for an official source—the business’ website—to find things like the address, contact information, hours, and products and services offered. These are pretty standard pieces of information for a website, but not all businesses fill these out on their social media profiles.
2. You have control over your website
Facebook is constantly changing its platform and restrictions on businesses’ content. Its EdgeRank algorithm controls what your fans see in their News Feed based on how they engage with your content, what kind of content you’re sharing, and how recently you shared it. The News Feed redesign and Timeline redesign will change how content and information is displayed. Facebook’s policies on cover photos and ads only allow 20% of those images to contain text.
If you have a website for your business, you decide what it looks like, what information is available, and how the content is displayed to all of your customers. Everyone has the opportunity to have the same experience while browsing your website.
3. Social media is NOT FREE!
While there is no fee to create a Business Account on the likes of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other platforms. Businesses soon discover that to reach the most people, it helps to buy ads on these 3 platforms. A recent study found that 37% of small businesses found social media ads to be effective.
You also need someone to run the social media marketing for your business, whether that’s you or a staff member. The time involvement / drain on resources to maximize your gains from these Social Media platforms can be significant. The marketing manpower or Man Hours, if you like, will cost you both money and time.
Get on the web
If you haven’t yet created a website for your business or you need a re-design of an old one, MAC5 can help. Please visit our Web Design page for more information. And if you’re just looking for someone to come in and have a look over your current website, well we do that too – visit our Consulting page for more info.
Interested? There’s no obligation so why not drop us a line or Call anytime to discuss how we can help ?