Business owners often ask do I really need to have a website and social media? Absolutely! Simply because this provides the most visibility for your business. However, it may not be the best answer for your business. In fact, there are a few factors that I recommend you consider before jumping on board.
Does your company have the budget to support designing and maintaining a website? If the answer is no, it may be best to stick with social media. Social media can be cost effective because the business accounts are "free" but they will cost you some time to create the content. Free also means that you lose some of your creative control because the platform uses its own formatting standards and its own delivery algorithm. Nonetheless, all of the the various platforms provide a built-in audience; Facebook has over two billion active monthly users!
On the other hand, if your company does have the budget available and controlling the standards of your marketing message is essential to your business—then I highly recommend creating a company website with its own domain. A personalized website gives your business a professional image and you can control every function on every page of the site. This is essential if you are trying to brand your product or service. And thanks to search engines, such as Google, Yahoo or Bing audience exposure is readily available. Google alone processes over 40,000 search queries per second!
Therefore, the correct answer is what can and do you want to manage? Or should you hire a professional to provide the services you want for your business? Whichever method you choose, please, be sure to study your audience so the conversation is relevant and create a marketing calendar to keep the message fresh. This will guarantee a successful, consistent message for your business!
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