Website Versus Social Media
Lately, I've been doing some research for some online projects. I'll get back to that in a moment. But something I've noticed is that many people are choosing either a website or social media. That made me think why is it a Website Versus Social Media?
I like to keep busy if you've not noticed already. If I'm not working I'm being creative in some way, Arts, Crafts etc. It was actually my hobbies that got me online in the first place.
In doing some research on ways to better promote my art, T-shirts and things I've notice that some people are just using social media to promote their "wares".
While walking through some vendor shows with my wife looking at arts and crafts not only do I look at what their offering but the marketer in me makes me look at "how" they're offering it. I try hard not to explain to my wife what they're doing wrong LOL.
I've picked up their flyers and business cards and many of them have no web presence, or it's one single source and NOT their website. They maybe have a Facebook page "Find us on Facebook" without the page name. 😮 or just instagram. Some may just have an Etsy or Shopify store and some will have a website.
Before I get much further I'll clue you in that I'm not going to pick one over the other and I'll explain in the summary below.
Benefits of Social Media
Social media is great! I use it daily and probably am on it more than I should. And just so we're all on the same thought process. Social media can be services such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, Linked In, Pinterest, etc.
These services are great to reaching your target market and potential customers. And I think it's good not to just hammer your product and services but get to know people and let them know who you are as well.
Social media is good for marketing and advertising. It's also good for sharing about your business, getting feedback from your your followers what they want and need, likes and dislikes and things of that sort.
The biggest drawback for social media is that you do not own those services! At any point in time they could shut your account down or the service them selves could shut down.
Something else to think about with social media is that if you are only on one service you are limiting your market. It is a know fact that certain age groups use one platform more than the others. It's also a know fact that certain age groups use social media more than others. In an article at Oberlo shares some great stats.
The article goes on to say that the time that many of these generations are active on social media can be as little as 3 hours at any given time in a 24 hour period.
So if you stop and think about that information what is the chances your social media page will get many views when they're scrolling through what their friends are up to or scrolling through photos and memes?
Benefits of A Website
The obvious benefit of a website is that you own it. It's your digital real estate. It can look exactly like you want. It has your branding, and any information you want and as much information as you want! If built in the correct way (which is pretty easy with some instruction.) you can generate organic traffic to you website. That means that people find you due to the relevant content on your website.
By having a website you're not limited to what age groups view the service. Everyone one uses the internet these days from young to old. We all know that if you want to find something fast, you go to your favorite search engine and type in what you're looking for.
The downside to a website is that just because you have one people won't know it's there. And there is some costs involved while social media is free a website will cost you a lot less than you think. As of this post you can have a website for as little as $75 per year.
As I mentioned at the start of this post some of the research I've been doing is to improve my YouTube Presence. Actually, I just posted a video title How To Build A Website Cheap and Easy. You can click the title to watch it. It will open in a new browser tab.
Website Versus Social Media Summary
Here's the real answer for you. I think it's best to have both a website AND social media.
Use your website as your hub. Your main spot that you drive all resources to. Use the social media sites to generate traffic to your site and it doesn't hurt to share some love from your website back to your social media accounts as well.
The social media services utilize ads to help you generate that traffic to your website. And of course there are ways to utilize the search engines free of charge to generate traffic as well.
In this age that we are in, it just makes sense to use all resources you have to make the most of your online business.
If you are in need help in figuring It out or just need someone to take care of it for you, I offer a wide range of services for just about anything web related check out my products and services or coaching and consulting in the menu.
