Today people visit social media more times a day than website. The validity of websites come to question. Many ask "Why do we still need a website when a Facebook Page can do the same at absolutely no cost?"
They are easier to maintain, have a healthier audience, and are more engaging. Websites suddenly seem like an obsolete alternative.
It is very tempting to ditch websites completely for social media platforms. But here are some reasons why you should still have a company website:
Social Media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram come and go. Yesterday they replaced Friendster and MySpace, and tomorrow they will be replaced by another. But your website will always be yours, because it is the digital representation of your storefront.
Although more expensive to set up and more time-consuming to build traffic, it is more sustainable and secure.
More importantly, usage of social networking sites is on their terms and conditions. These conditions change from time to time, causing businesses to be caught off-guard.
Too many brands had their corporate accounts banned by social network sites because they violated some fine-prints. Without a website as backup, businesses grind to a halt. These kinds of problems can spell doom for your profits.
With a website, you set the terms of use and control what content goes up. You own the domain name and hosting service. And if one service provider disagrees with your content, simply migrate the entire thing to a competitor.
Trying to catch your audience's attention amidst this chaos is near impossible. Sometimes you have to stoop to their level of disinformation just to be acknowledged. All the while, you will be competing with millions of brands doing exactly the same thing.
Websites though, are clutter-free. They are peaceful and quiet. When in your website, your products and services have the undivided attention of your visitors. You have control over what they see and what to show them after they add something into their carts. You can also ease their purchase decision by engineering a strong funnel.
As a user, you may like that the ads show you exactly what you want to buy. But the more engaged your audience is with your post, the higher chance they will see competitors' ads. This will ultimately drive the audience away from your brand.
Of course, you can use this to your advantage. You can push ads to target people who engage with your competitors. But all these tit-for-tat tactics will only benefit one party: the social media company.
A smarter way could be to drive interest using your brand's social account, then directing them to your website. That way you will have more control over their pre-purchase experience. The chance of conversion will also be higher.
While Instagram offers more creativity with image collages, they do very little with videos. It is also very difficult to build a Marketing Funnel out of these layouts.
A good visual presence and layout reflects your brand image. Websites that carry a classy color scheme will appear to have class. The versatility of websites also allow for endless customization in function.
As a result, images and videos have better quality in websites. Portfolios are also better organized on websites than social media. You also have the ability to offer eCommerce capability.
A good strategy is one that marries both social media and website in a marketing campaign. After all, there are some things one can do better than the other.
They are easier to maintain, have a healthier audience, and are more engaging. Websites suddenly seem like an obsolete alternative.
It is very tempting to ditch websites completely for social media platforms. But here are some reasons why you should still have a company website:
OWNERSHIP
Throughout the entire lifetime of the Internet and its evolution, two things remained constant; email and website. They were the first things adopted by users, and will remain relevant for many decades to come.Social Media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram come and go. Yesterday they replaced Friendster and MySpace, and tomorrow they will be replaced by another. But your website will always be yours, because it is the digital representation of your storefront.
Although more expensive to set up and more time-consuming to build traffic, it is more sustainable and secure.
More importantly, usage of social networking sites is on their terms and conditions. These conditions change from time to time, causing businesses to be caught off-guard.
Too many brands had their corporate accounts banned by social network sites because they violated some fine-prints. Without a website as backup, businesses grind to a halt. These kinds of problems can spell doom for your profits.
With a website, you set the terms of use and control what content goes up. You own the domain name and hosting service. And if one service provider disagrees with your content, simply migrate the entire thing to a competitor.
CLUTTER-FREE
Social media are an incessant barrage of information overload. Users are fed news of war and deaths, to videos of pointless bottle-flipping Olympians.Trying to catch your audience's attention amidst this chaos is near impossible. Sometimes you have to stoop to their level of disinformation just to be acknowledged. All the while, you will be competing with millions of brands doing exactly the same thing.
Websites though, are clutter-free. They are peaceful and quiet. When in your website, your products and services have the undivided attention of your visitors. You have control over what they see and what to show them after they add something into their carts. You can also ease their purchase decision by engineering a strong funnel.
ADVERTISEMENT-FREE
Social media platforms monitor your every move. Through the data they collect about your movement, they feed you relevant ads. This convenience may appeal to users, but the same cannot be said to brands.As a user, you may like that the ads show you exactly what you want to buy. But the more engaged your audience is with your post, the higher chance they will see competitors' ads. This will ultimately drive the audience away from your brand.
Of course, you can use this to your advantage. You can push ads to target people who engage with your competitors. But all these tit-for-tat tactics will only benefit one party: the social media company.
A smarter way could be to drive interest using your brand's social account, then directing them to your website. That way you will have more control over their pre-purchase experience. The chance of conversion will also be higher.
CUSTOMISABLE
A typical Facebook Page is almost entirely generic. The only visual things you can change are Profile Picture and Cover Image. From an audience's point of view, this layout is boring and predictable.While Instagram offers more creativity with image collages, they do very little with videos. It is also very difficult to build a Marketing Funnel out of these layouts.
A good visual presence and layout reflects your brand image. Websites that carry a classy color scheme will appear to have class. The versatility of websites also allow for endless customization in function.
As a result, images and videos have better quality in websites. Portfolios are also better organized on websites than social media. You also have the ability to offer eCommerce capability.
Traditional Still Works
Having a strong social media presence is no longer an option today. But not at the expense of a functional and active website. For all the reasons above, it is always good to have your eggs in multiple baskets, in case one falls.A good strategy is one that marries both social media and website in a marketing campaign. After all, there are some things one can do better than the other.
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