Does Your Small Business Need Social Media AND a Website?

Do you need a website and a social media presence? Well, if you expect your business to thrive and ultimately make a profit-the answer is YES.  Your website is the first impression potential customers have about your business and a well-designed site can make a big difference in gaining new customers.  However, with the proliferation of social media sites, it has become easier to communicate and engage with potential customers, making these platforms vital to business success as well.  

Websites build brands
While the current trends favor a social media presence over the traditional business website, there are still good reasons not to abandon your most valuable online asset - the company website.  The most important reasons being it establishes credibility and gives you the chance to provide that final call to action.  Moreover, consumers want a unique online experience, which includes feeling confident your business can provide the products or services needed to solve their problem.  Your website establishes what your core values are, as well as what you do and how well you do it.  Without a stable web presence people feel less confident doing business with your company.  Essentially, if you are not online, you do not exist.

Some additional reasons to maintain are business website are:
•    Provides user analytics
•    Reinforces your brand online
•    Provides accessibility to in-depth business information

See below an example taken from one of our websites:

Your business needs social media
Today people are more connected to their devices and want information on the go. As a result, they prefer to gather information about businesses from social media sites more than they prefer navigating through official business websites.  As such, your social media  presence is as equally important at your company website.  In short your business can survive for a short time without a website, however, it will suffer significantly if you do not establish a digital footprint via social media platforms as soon as you open for business.  Particularly, because these mediums are great influencers for your potential customers and they will notice your absence when they begin a search for your services. 

If you are a new company, a Facebook business page or a dedicated listing on a local directory can serve as a temporary website or an initial point of contact for potential customers.  Additionally, many of today’s social media sites make it easy to integrate high quality e-commerce apps such as ecwid and Storefront Social  right into your Facebook page.  A word of caution when using your social media profiles to market and sale goods - do not forget the social aspect.  Remember that these platforms are about communicating and making connections. People log on to these sites for conversation, they do not log on to Facebook and LinkedIn to be sold products and services, therefore use your discretion when using these tools.

Some additional benefits of using social media for business are:

•    Increase website traffic and improve search rankings
•    Target customers more effectively
•    Increase your brand awareness and expand your reach

See below an example of how we manage our social presence:

You can create nice visuals to share on Twitter and LinkedIn:

Final Thoughts
With the right amount of planning and focus and execution you can turn your social media profiles into a powerful branding strategy.   If your business is new and you are still working on your website, set up your social media profiles to establish an online presence. However, keep in mind that your overall marketing plan has to include a social media strategy as well as a business website to be successful. 

ChangeU: For your independent study….

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