“I already have a social media presence, infact our Facebook page is very active, so why do I need a website?”. This is a question on the lips of many small business owners, especially when their social media pages are bringing in lots of tractions.
In this article, we will analyze 10 important reasons every business needs a website. By the end, you will have a clear understanding of how a website can benefit your business, despite their social media presence.
Website is first place people search
The truth is Your Customers expect you to have a business website. This is perhaps the most important reason for having a website for your business. Before trying out a new service or product, the first place people go to learn more about their purchases is the Internet – Google. Search engine optimization (SEO) strategy and marketing efforts help your website appear higher in search rankings and increase your website visibility.
The generation of consumers right now are tech-savvy and the website is the first place people visit even before any social media account. Your website can help you generate business, increase brand recall value, promote goodwill for customers and target audiences, and deliver strong marketing messages.
Having a Website shows Credibility
While social media is great for generating a buzz , creating noise and engagement around your brand, a website is still the best way to establish and build trust with potential customers. You can display your best reviews and testimonials prominently on your website; this is a great way to establish social proof – credibility, and gain people’s trust.
Another way trust and credibility are built are through the Frequently Answered Questions (FAQs). When a customer visits your website they will have a lot of questions in their mind. Is the product legit? Does the product come with a refund guarantee? etc. Answering these questions as quickly in the customer journey as possible can help you remove the barriers to a sale.
Websites shows Professionalism
There are no two ways about it, many people won’t take your business seriously without a website. Apart from the trust or credibility, it shows professionalism especially in the area of correspondence. Having your own website lets you create a business email address, for example, info@yoursite.com. This is highly more professional than using a personal email address to conduct business. Think of meeting new investors or prospective clients and you hand them your business card. They would be expecting to see a business website and email instead of just a social media handle and personal email. More so, there are many forms you can’t fill online without having a business email. All these can’t be done just by having a social media account.
Websites Captures more Information than Social Media
Information sharing on social media is very limited, considering that every social media company has their laws. However, a website gives room for many information about your company without restriction; it is just dependent on you. People need to have enough information to make an informed decision to buy and a website is built for that. Information about the business profile, your business’ vision & mission, contact, address, ‘why choose us’, history, etc are all communicated through the website, which can not be seen on any social media handle. A website validates your expertise and makes you trustworthy. More so, Your website is also the perfect place to show off any professional certifications or awards your business has.
Access to Email Marketing
Many email marketing tools no longer allow users to send emails from personal addresses. This means that if you want to take advantage of the power of email marketing, you’ll need a business email account which is only possible if you have a website.
You have more control with your website
With a website, you have complete control over your content and can share your brand in any way you want. Unlike social media where you are at the mercy of algorithms and policies of the platform that ends up owning whatever you post. Your website is the only place on the internet that you can truly control and it’s important to take advantage of that control.
Another form of control is the amount of products you can display. You can use a website to show off your products and services in a way that is visually appealing and easy to navigate. This is especially a key point for E-commerce businesses who are limited by social media.
You have more audience reach with Website
While social media helps you make noise, it is still limited to reaching as many people as possible. People would only reach your business on social media if they know it exists; more so, the people you reach is dependent on the people who follow your brand; this means if certain people aren’t your followers, your business won’t most likely pop up on their pages. More so, your social media accounts are set to target certain demographics and locations. This is why a website is better, just a single search about a product you sell or service you render will pop up your website on Google irrespective of the demography, location or if the person is your follower on social media.
Your website markets your business 24 hours Daily
As long as your hosting is not expired, your website works round the clock to ensure that your business is seen by as many people as possible. With this, your website isn’t limited by time zones and can be seen anywhere at any time in any country around the world. Therefore, you can begin scaling your business and products across different countries to get even more sales and customers.
Helps Compete in the Industry
Your competitors as well as customers are online and having a website helps you compete and have a share of the market.
More so, having a website gives you a fair chance to compete with the giants of your industry – who you normally don’t have the capital to compete with. Creating an optimized website, with the right keywords can increase your website traffic and influence your consumer’s journey. .Having a prominent position on the search results page is one of the many ways to challenge your competitors. By this, you aren’t left behind by your competitors and industry leaders.
Cost-Effective Marketing
These days, to setup websites is very affordable and easy, depending on the kind of website and business you run. Though, creating some websites can cost money, but on a long term basis, a website has proven to be the best way of marketing. A well optimized website puts you in front of thousands of potential consumers without spending much. A solid SEO and great content are two key things you need for an optimized website.
They can help you reach a broader target audience for promoting your services or products. The content of a website influences buying decisions and commercial transactions, no matter what service or product you provide.
Conclusion
While social media platforms are great for building relationships and engaging with customers, they should be thought of as supplemental to your website. Your website is your business’ face and online address. It is the first place customers would want to go to for information about. Additionally, more and more people are online, your competitors are online, and if you’re not there to intervene, your competitors will definitely hijack your prospective customers and leave you in the dark.