Facebook Crashed and So Did My Business

You may have a good strong business in the suburbs or a small country town and trade may be going rather well for you because you have a decent following on your social platforms. You can post your specials, respond to customers and even have some interaction and fun. Your social media marketing is successful and provides enough business to keep you trading even in the hardest of times.

That is great!

But what would happen if it all just disappeared?  What if your best performing social media platform went offline or even completely disappeared, never to return?

Your business could disappear just as fast if you only had one way for your customers to find you.

7 Reasons to Have a website in 2021

1.Your customers are looking for it

When you have a Facebook page or Instagram account for your business that's all very nice but that is usually used by people who already know about your business. when people are searching for your business for the first time for example when they are new to the neighbourhood they are going to look for your website on the internet in a search. People are expecting to find a website at the end of a legitimate business. a website provides trust 

2. A Website provides social proof

 A website with links to your social platforms provides a good level of social proof that you are an active business with an online presence. If people can communicate with your website or your social channels and you respond you are more likely to do business with a person than a business without a website and an expected way to communicate with you such as an email address or website form. There are a lot of people that do not have a social media account and rely on traditional methods of communication with your business. 

3. You control the narrative and the audience

With a website, you have control over what content is placed on it. it is your opportunity to tell your story or the story of your business. A good story makes good business. you do not have control over what is said on a social media platform and you do not have control of the people who follow you on that platform. if you have a website you can create your own audience with your own email list which you can use even when the social media platforms go offline. Which way do. 

4. Your competitors all have company websites

If you don't have a website and your competition does they will have access to a large chunk of potential customers that won't even see your business. If your competitors don’t have a website and you do well you have an advantage over them right from the beginning. 

5. Your business is always open

Advertising and promoting your business on Facebook and Instagram is like tossing messages in a stream and watching them flow past your potential customers. Sometimes they see them for long enough to grab them off the stream and interact with you. If you have a website your information is there all the time even at 3 a.m. in the morning a customer can look at your product and place an order or make an appointment with you. 

6. You’ll show up in Google search results

Ok, it might be great to be found on Facebook or Instagram but they're only a small portion of what the internet really is. if you want to be found online you need to be found in a Google or are the search engine search. When people search for your business or products or services you need to have a website so you can be found and contacted. sometimes a Facebook page May appear in the search results but if that is all you have it is very hard to engage an audience when you are asleep as social media is an interactive medium where you talk to your customers in real-time although you can put chatbots on your website and talk in real-time you will always have a showcase of your services and products available for potential customers to look at in their own time and when they do contact you they have enough information to make a purchase without asking more questions. Or maybe the social networks get caught in a data breach or get hacked or for some other reason, they go down and maybe even out of business. If you have all your eggs in the social marketing basket you might lose your business as fast as the social network goes offline. If you have a website it is all there for your customers to find. 

7. Showcase your products and services and answer questions

A website is so versatile you can do all sorts of things to showcase your products and services. You can provide a downloadable PDF. short videos and tutorials and instructions to help educate your customers before they purchase from you. You can have an faq page and answer as many questions as you like shortening of the sales funnel if you are trying to sell a product or service. You can make a website look how you like and personalize it to represent your business in the best light that is something you cannot do with a social media platform. 



 Your website should be your home base or headquarters where your customers ultimately end up when they want to do business with you. you can connect your Facebook and Instagram and Pinterest accounts to your website and you can allow your customers to travel from one platform to another but at least you will have multiple platforms available for your customers to find you. more than 50% of people who find you in your Google my business listing click on the website won't say find you. 

Your website can even add value to your business. if you are trying to sell your business and you have a fully functioning digital marketing platform including a website you could potentially get more money for your business or at least make it easier to sell with these features as part of your digital assets.

A website can be inspiring and educational and also a great sales tool but most of all a website is your business online.