In last month’s newsletter, I talked about whether or not you really needed a website, citing only three folks I’d encountered who truly didn’t need a website to promote their business. I did not utter a word about social media. Okay, so let’s talk about that now.

There are folks who believe having a Facebook page — and even posting on it regularly — is an all-encompassing online marketing strategy for promoting their business. While Facebook and other social media can surely be helpful, here are some reasons why they’re not the whole enchilada.

• Having a website helps your business rank better in the search results. While there are many factors that help with ranking, you have more opportunities to compete by having your own website.
• You don’t own the space or contacts on social media sites. If, one day, Facebook, for instance, goes out of business or crashes, you’ll lose all of those connections.
• You are tied to the direction that your social media platform chooses to go. You’ll be highly affected by the ever-changing algorithms that limit your exposure.
• Having your own website allows you to better control the impressions you’ll be making. Facebook has a certain feel and attracts a certain audience, LinkedIn another, Pinterest yet another. Which brings us to another matter…
• Believe it or not, there are still many people who do not or will not patronize social media sites. You are missing out on those potential customers.

Don’t rely solely on a social media platforms to fit the needs that a website will accomplish. You can use them both to get the most out of your online marketing efforts.

Contact me if you’d like to discuss further your need for a website.