6 reasons why you REALLY need a website & a social media page for your business
1. Credibility
If you’ve read any of my website, my facebook posts or my blog posts you’ll realise the one big thing that a website builds for a small or micro business is credibility. People who buy from any business need a base-level of trust that the business is going to do what it says on the tin.
You might be the best at what you do but without a website, people will find it difficult to find you and find out in depth information about your services. Social media is great for showing off work and engaging with customers, absolutely use it for that.
A well designed website shows you’ve invested in your brand and business, gives you a platform to showcase all of your services easily and helps build trust in your potential customers before they contact you.
2. You're losing customers
52% of people go directly to a website to learn more about a business.
If you don’t have a digital space (or even worse, an outdated and un-secure website) you’re missing out on over half of your customer base getting in touch with you. As a comparison, roughly 25% of people use social media to find and learn more about a businesses services.
I use this analogy way too often, but if you had a bricks and mortar store it’s like ignoring half the customers coming through your door. You wouldn’t, or, I guess if you would do that – bash on.
3. You're in control
Social media algorithms change by the day and as they change, it often impacts the businesses who use these platforms as their online presence.
So, if Facebook updates it’s algorithm in regards to how it shows business posts that aren’t boosted (as they’re always prompting you to do) and you lose 50% of your reach – where do you go from there? It’s completely out of your control and it’s incredibly likely to happen given they’re an advertising platform.
Remember, if you’re not spending money on an advertising platform, you will almost always be penalised.
4. It really limits your branding
I know branding probably isn’t the top of your list when it comes to your business, in fact, I’m certain paying your bills is top of the list but branding is incredibly important in a small business. Also, before you skip this, changing a profile picture and a header image isn’t branding.
You need to differentiate yourself from your competitors. Every single business has a competitor and if you’re not spending time showing how you’re different to them, you’ll lose business to them.
Working with a good web designer gives you the peace of mind that your website is designed around what differentiates you and will show your customers immediately why you’re better than the rest and alongside the added credibility and visibility, you’ve got a recipe for increased revenue.
5. It's really not that expensive.
There are a huge amount of digital agencies out there that won’t design a website without the price-tag sitting in the thousands – they’re not interested in working within the budgets of a small business.
Luckily for you, I absolutely love working with small and micro businesses. My packages start from £99 for the year, including a domain name AND hosting for a year!
It’s also worth putting into perspective, my most expensive package is £349. If you sell a course that costs £200 to access, within two orders you’ve made money! If you take into account the increased visibility of your business and services, the increased credibility to your business and the ability to show your brand off properly and differentiate yourself – you’re in the money.