There is no denying that social media can be a powerful marketing tool to increase your brand awareness and reach potential customers. However, because of this, too many businesses believe that simply being active on social media means their business is successfully marketed online. This is simply not the case.
Unfortunately, because setting up a social media profile is free and relatively easy to do, many businesses feel they can get away with this type of digital marketing alone, without needing to commit any major time or financial investment.
An effective digital marketing strategy requires a well-designed website at the very minimum, as well as a commitment to creating useful and engaging content consistently. Social media marketing is only a small part of a much larger strategy.
Here are 4 reasons why social media marketing alone is not enough:
1. Social Media is just that – a social platform
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat – what do these platforms all have in common? They were created for socialising. While social media is a great place to engage with your audience and share quality content, it is not the centre for conducting your business.
The content you share on social media should be housed on your own website where customers can learn more about your products and services and even make purchases.
2. Social media owns your content
When you post content on your Facebook page or Twitter profile, you’d be excused for believing you own that content, but sadly, you’d be wrong. Anything you share on social media, whether that be images, written content or video is owned by the platform you shared it on. This means they can redistribute it for their own financial gain without ever asking your permission, regardless of your privacy settings.
By publishing your own content on your protected and copyrighted website, you can ensure your visual and written assets remain yours and cannot be sold or transferred to another person or entity without your knowledge.
3. Social media can’t guarantee visibility
There are 3.5 billion daily searches on Google. If you are only marketing your business on social media without at least attempting to have your business website ranking on Google, you are missing a huge part of the puzzle.
Facebook visibility is dictated by purchased adspace, where spending some time optimising your website for Google is not only free but has a longer lasting effect. Ever wondered how visible your business really is in Facebook? Stop buying ads and watch your engagement and views disintegrate. Where if you start ranking on Google for the keywords that your target audience are searching for you aren’t likely to suddenly lose your position in the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs).
People judge businesses by their websites, deciding if it loads quickly, can be accessed on their mobile and is up-to-date. If your potential customers can’t find a quality website for your business but you are trying to sell products on Facebook, they might not even believe your business exists or whether it should be trusted.
Your website can be the greatest source of pride for your business. Add value to your customers lives. Provide useful information that guides potential leads to buy from you and trust your business. Then share this content on social media to lead new visitors to your site to be wowed.
4. Social media doesn’t support eCommerce
These days we expect all businesses to be operating 24/7 and for many businesses this means providing an online portal for customers to make purchases and submit enquiries any time of the day or night.
Social media is not built to support your ecommerce store in the way that your customers will expect and could see you missing out on money while you sleep.
Building a website that is custom-fit for the needs of your businesses guarantees your storefront is always open and immaculately presented. With the freedom to choose how to layout your content and funnel your leads, the possibilities for growth are endless.