The other day I was surfing LinkedIn. I do this from time to time to check on other professionals, to see what my customers are saying, and to look for leads.
The shocker was a fairly large percentage of businesses did not have a website.
Yep, you read that right. More than a few companies did NOT have their own site.
It felt so 1996.
These organizations, several of them fairly large, did not own their media. They had set up shop on rented land (primarily Facebook and LinkedIn).
I strongly agree with Kara Vanskike’s article on Spin Sucks about on this very topic, embracing owned media.
Her pet peeve is my pet peeve–Businesses without websites. So today, I’m simply talking to business owners who’ve decided they don’t need a website. I just want to give you five reasons why you do need your own website.
5 reasons why your business needs a website (remember it is 2016)
1. People expect it.
This is the biggest reason of all. I don’t care if you’re a plumber, attorney, or own a restaurant, people expect to see a www.insertyourbusinessname (dot) whatever. With no website you instantly lose credibility.
2. You’re placing valuable content on someone else’s property.
You might have a Facebook business page but what if they make some change that kicks you to the curb? Facebook has been known to make changes that impact business. What if LinkedIn decides to kill company websites? You’re honestly playing a dangerous game here… think of all the blood, sweat, and tears you put into that content and how unsecured it is on another’s property.
3. It’s yours.
Your website is your website. I recommend going with a self-hosted WordPress website. If you want to build your credibility, show results, and be known as an expert in your field, there is no better tool out there to show the world what you do and who you do it for. Today there is no limit to what you can do with a WordPress site and the cost of entry is very low.
Own your media.
4. It’s a promotion machine.
Speaking of Facebook, what about all the other social networks, from Twitter to Instagram? These networks are brilliantly set up to help you promote your business and a website makes this much easier. If you have a WordPress website all you need is a basic social sharing plugin and you’re off to the races. You or your fans can easily share blog posts, eBooks, videos, etc.
5. Branding
Your website IS your brand. From logo, to copywriting, to blog posts. The tone of your copy, the color of your logo, the fonts you choose. They all represent your business. If your only site is a Facebook business page, you have very little control of the branding, especially visual branding. Look on all the components that go into branding a business and tell me if this can be done via Facebook.
I mentioned WordPress for good reason—there are about a million and one templates that make this way easier than it was years ago. You don’t have to know html or CSS, or any other coding language, and even if you do, it’s relatively easy to find the right people to help you through a service like Elance or Upwork.
So, stop risking your business, own your media, brand it properly and get busy promoting what you do. Time to move and own your media property.
Do you want to bring your brand to life? Taking a few minutes to complete my brand audit will help you think about your current marketing efforts and what might need to change. It will also help me suggest several ways to improve your branding and marketing now: http://mcbreenmedia.com/contact/brand-audit/
After you complete the form, we’ll contact you to schedule a time to go over the results and see how we can help.
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