Some of the requests we receive for web design are from companies that have never developed a website (yes, they do exist). We really enjoy walking through the web development process with customers who are building a website for the first time and building their “digital house.” We’ll talk more about digital space and building on your own land as we cover digital content on your site versus other sites.
One of the common questions we receive is, “Why do I need a website, isn’t everyone using Facebook? I can just post content there. I don’ t have a need for a website.”
First, this client made an inquiry about a website, so obviously they know they need one. But, what they are really asking is, “Do I need to put work and effort in to my website? Or should I just have a simple site to say that I have one?”
Some businesses are super successful at selling their products and services on Facebook and other social media platforms. Social Media Marketing has its place; however it isn’t something in which a business can solely rely on.
We have one statistic to help prove this point. Continuing with Facebook, their own site states that organically a page’s posts reach about 16% of their fans. So, what do you have to do to achieve a higher reach of your page following? You have to pay Facebook to Boost the post. This is like digital sharecropping- paying someone to distribute your own content. Again Facebook has a place and purpose, but we’d rather put money in the pocket of our clients versus Mark Zuckerberg’s pocket, who is currently worth about 33.1 Billion due to the rise of Facebook mobile ads over the last quarter.
Social Media is a great way to connect with people and share your products and services. However, it isn’t the place to create content or distribute your content, unless you want you want to pay to distribute it. As a company, you want to build your content on your land, not another person’s. By building your content on Facebook or another social media platform, you are ultimately “building” on a space that isn’t yours.
Rule one of digital media: Own your own content. The digital media space is about intellectual property and long-term success. And to best accomplish this, you need freedom and you need your own land to build on. You NEED your own website.
