If you’re starting a brand or business then you need a website. While you may be able to get started on other platforms and later build a website, you might as well launch your brand on YOUR own platform.
What do I mean by your own platform?
With a website you have complete control over the content you publish. You also have more control over who sees your website and how many people see it.
Social media platforms are owned by others. They have all these RULES on what you cannot post and they LIMIT who sees your content because they want you to PAY for people to see it. *cough* *cough* Facebook Ads.
Don’t get me wrong, paid advertising is fantastic and can help your brand or business tremendously. But you’re putting in a lot more work to get organic traffic only to have social media platforms working against you.
Who wants to work harder to just put out content? Certainly not me, and YOU SHOULDN’T EITHER!
So what should you do?
Build your BADASS website!
Yes, it’s much easier to create an account on an already established platform and get started by putting out content in seconds. But eventually you’ll feel like social media controls you…
Your followers will live in the platform, your content will live on the platform, and your engagement will live on the platform. And if you’re not posting frequently, then your business will not grow.
With a little work, tech savvy, and digital strategy you can have your platform ready and working for you daily, without having to show up daily (much less multiple times a day).
So here are the 5 reasons why you need a website:
1. Control Your Content
Have control over your content without risking your posts being deleted or shown to less people. Put out content whenever you want and showcase it the way you want.
2. Have More Control Over Your Traffic
Have more control over the number of people who see your content. No more working for hours creating content so only a few people scroll past it.
3. Have More Control Over Your Engagement
Have more control over the number of people who engage with your content. No more working for hours creating a post that only gets you 115 (or less) likes, which evidently has no value.
4. Your Followers/Supporters are ACTUALLY Yours
When your brand or business lives on social media, you don’t own your followers. You cannot guarantee that they will all get your content.
When you have a website, you build an email opt-in so your followers become email subscribers. That list of email subscribers is YOURS. You are free to email them content whenever you want.
People’s email inboxes are sacred. The email address is the most effective way to get in contact with someone after their phone number.
5. Scalable and More Effective for Monetization
When you have something you are trying to sell but you’re only on social media, you have to send the follower outside of the platform. People don’t love to do that.
If Jasmine is scrolling on Instagram, and you ask her to buy your product or check out an outside link, the chances are low that she will click your bio link or swipe up on your Stories. She MAY but the chances are lower than if someone sends Jasmine a link in her email.
When someone is on their “Instagram break” they already have the mindset that they will remain on Instagram.
When someone is on their “email break” they have the mindset that they may need to follow up with something: respond to an email, verify their bank account, set up an appointment, etc. So buying your product, or visiting your website is not seen as a chore or nuisance, instead your subscribers are prepared to consume your content.
If you have a brand or business on a social media platform right now, think about what you would do if that platform was to close down? Scary right? This DOES happen. Remember Vine?
There were a bunch of Vine stars who put in hundreds and thousands of hours creating content and had millions of viewers and fans. When Vine disappeared, the users with brands were forced to start over on another platform. (Unless they were proactive enough to build and expand their brand elsewhere.)
Don’t get me wrong, social media is important but it should be a supplement. Social media should be used as a tool for exposure and added communication.
Bottom line, if you want to monetize your brand or run a successful business then you need a website.
So are you ready to build your website?
What if I told you that you can have your website up today?
Read this post, where I outline all the steps you need to take to build your website. I even include the products and services that I use in my business everyday!
Does this all make sense? Do you have any questions? Let me know in the comments!