Do you need a website?

Social media has some huge benefits over websites

• The platforms are free
• Easy to set up and configure an account 
• Posting content is simple and can even be fun
• Doesn’t take much effort to connect with people all over the world

On the other hand, a website

• Is not free – at a minimum, you pay for a domain name and hosting
• Setup and designing your site takes time learning how to use the platform
• There is a trade-off between your time and money … do you have time to design, build, and maintain your website or do you have the resources to hire someone to help you?
• Connecting with new clients or customers and getting them to your website takes more work

But websites have one HUGE advantage over all social media options – you own your website, while your account on social media you are reliant on a huge company that can all of a sudden change the rules on you.  

!!! YOU OWN YOUR WEBSITE !!!

For this one reason alone, every small business, entrepreneur, and creative needs to have a website.

We have all seen the ongoing changes that platforms have made – anything from changing who they show your content to, to cracking down on certain keywords that could be related to misinformation.

In the worst-case scenario, the platform can decide to remove your account – deleting years of your hard work connecting with people and creating content.  All gone in a blink of an eye.  And you have no recourse, there is not a 1-800 number for you to call and talk to someone to plead your case and get your account reinstated.  

Benefits of a Website

A website is a must-have for any business or passion project in today’s digital age. It provides a platform for you to share your products, services, and mission with the world. A website gives you a stable place for

• customers or clients to easily find information about your company or organization
• potential clients to contact you for more information 
• customers or to make a purchase
• you to build credibility and trust 

There are many other reasons why having a website is essential for your business or passion project.  A website provides a place that you have full control of to

• sell your products
• book clients for your services
• promote events
• share news and blog posts
• connect with your audience to your email list

A more impactful case involves business owners who are temporarily locked out of their accounts – typically for a week.  This can happen because you accidentally match some of the phrases that the platform looks for that are associated with accounts that are fake or are propagating inaccurate information.  Or it might happen because you tag too many people with a similar message, and it looks like you are spamming everyone – where in reality, you might be only trying to connect and invite people to one of your events.   Depending on the week, it might not impact your business … but I have talked with people whose lockout coincides with the release of a new product or a launch of a course or digital product – and in that case, a lockout on your primary social media platform can be devastating for your business.

In the worst-case scenario, you might lose your account entirely.  This means you have no access to your followers, and all of the content you have posted is gone forever.  I recently talked with a person who had a group of over 50,000 followers.  Someone else gained access to her account and removed her as an administrator.  Then they started posting borderline “adult content” on the account.  Her appeals to Facebook led her nowhere, and she was not able to get access back.  Instead, she was forced to start over with zero followers and zero content.

Protect your Business, Connections, and Content

So the lesson learned is don’t allow social media companies to control your business and your connection to your clients and customers.

🌸 Use social media to make new connections, then direct them to your website and, most importantly, to sign up for your email list.  This way, you can contact people directly – whether that be in a weekly newsletter or emailing special promotions and announcements.  

🌸 Maintain a website with all of your content.  Send people you meet to your website to learn more about what you do, buy your products, signup for your services, and most importantly, to join your email list.

Doing the above two things will mean that you are in control of your online presence and utilizing the tools in the most beneficial way to move your business or passion project forward.