With social media being such a large part of our lives, many businesses ask “why should I have a website?” Well, it’s actually important to have your own website. Even if you focus your marketing efforts on social media, you still need a website.
Your rules
When you use a social media platform, you have to post content within their guidelines. The site must be used according to their rules. You can only post the content format/s that they allow. You can’t post any topics that they don’t allow. And they can control your access to the platform. They also can change the rules at any time. Which might mean the site you’ve put all your time and effort into, suddenly becomes a place that doesn’t work for your business.
Control
A social media platform is in control of their platform. That means you can be “put in jail”, suspended or blocked. Generally, that won’t happen unless you do something that’s against their Terms of Service. But sometimes you can be reported by malicious users, make a mistake or even get locked out of your account due to hacking or a lost password. Then your clients will no longer be able to contact you via that platform. Would your clients know where else to look?
Platforms come and go
Social media platforms come and go and you have no control over that. I’m sure you’ve heard of (and possibly used) MySpace, Google Plus, Vine, Meerkat or any of the other sites that came, were the “place you have to be” and left. So you may think that Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or YouTube is all you need, but if they become less popular with your ideal demographic, or close altogether it’s a serious issue for your business.
These are just 3 of the reasons why it’s important not to rely on a social media platform alone. If you have a website, you can easily post there and share your posts on a number of websites. Just make one post on your website, then use that post to share on each of your social media platforms, adapting the post to each platform. For example, share an interesting idea, or tip on Twitter with a link to the full post; an few lines about the content and a link to the post on Facebook; and an interesting image on Instagram where you can include a link to the post in your bio, or just direct viewers to your site.
Then you will always have control over the content, your customers know your website, and the traffic helps build your websites visibility.
