Social media is leading the charge with small business owners right now in order to get content out into the world. I am writing from a different viewpoint today on why I don’t put much content on my social media pages, and why I still think a semi “old school” website is the best option for business owners.
Social media has become the new form of blogging. It is an outlet to share what’s happening in your business, show new products, tips-and-tricks, and have your business front and center to viewers’ eyes every day. I know for many small business owners, social media is your main source of connecting with the audience, getting new clients, and even making a large portion of income. As a business owner myself, I actually view social media a bit differently and rarely use it. Here are the reasons social media is not my main source for publishing information about my business:
SEO IS NOT CONNECTED TO SOCIAL MEDIA
When people are searching for content or criteria on a search engine a tool called Search Engine Optimization (SEO) recognizes your business website and filters people to your website if it seems like a good match. On social media there is no way to search for specific content. Social media gives you the most recent update that has been posted and then it gets lost in the profile. It is difficult to go back and find content unless you marked it as saved or remember the photo used that was associated with the content. Social media relies heavily on the business owner to organize their information and keep it front and center for viewers, but that isn’t always done consistently or the same from person to person.
READERS STUMBLE INTO YOUR INFORMATION, INSTEAD OF SEEKING IT OUT
When I am looking for something specific on a search engine, I usually type in 2-3 words related to what I need. After that a few businesses show up, around the area I need it, and I am led to the business website to decide if I want to do business with them. Social media requires followers to find your page, decide if they want to “follow” you, and wait for you to post content which may or may not relate to what they need. Followers are stumbling into your content rather than searching it out for a specific reason.
POOR COMMENTS ON A POST CAN TURN OTHERS AWAY
On a website owners have complete control over which reviews are posted and how their business is presented to potential clients. Unfortunately today social media tends to be a firing ground for blunt and/or rude comments. These blunt, and sometimes, ugly comments can turn potential customers away. Social media users can turn off comments on certain posts, but mostly they are left on and can be read by all, for the good or bad.
SOCIAL MEDIA REQUIRES NEAR CONSTANT PRESENCE
On a business website you can post information, organize it neatly and have multiple people use and glean information from your website over and over again. Social media feeds off of people constantly feeding it more content. The business owner feels pressure to put content out every day whether or not it’s high quality or not, just to stay in front of their followers as much as possible.
MONETIZATION LOOKS DIFFERENT
As far as monetization opportunities go, both a website and social media pages provide opportunities to generate income. Websites allow for advertisements to pop-up on the webpage for every viewer and then a small portion of funds is sent to the website owner. There are also opportunities for affiliate links to be linked through website links as well. Social media has these options as well, but as mentioned earlier it requires the business owner to constantly be putting that content in front of their followers instead of people just naturally going to a website.
MOVING FORWARD AS A BUSINESS OWNER:
- Have a social media presence, but don’t make it your only presence
- Write down a social strategy on how you want to use social media and the reasons for using it for your business
- Set particular hours of the day you will check in and engage with customers
- Share your posts to your website and blog as well so search engines can find that content
- Have a succinct look across your page for eye-catching brand marketing (i.e. brand colors, similar fonts etc.)
Throughout writing this blog I found many good articles related to this. These articles present both sides of view and are very insightful on this topic.
Sources:
Murphy would love to hear your thoughts on this topic. Leave a comment below with insight you have a reader and/or business owner.
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