With social media gaining popularity on a daily basis, the focus in the web industry has shifted to following companies on Twitter or becoming fans on Facebook as opposed to searching for the corporate website. Furthermore, companies are also directing a lot of their web traffic to their blog instead of their primary marketing base: the website. While I am an advocate of both social media and blogging, I personally think that this will not result in leads or effective marketing in the long run. Why? Because social media and blogs provide people with a “personality,” not a selling point.
Don’t get me wrong, brand identities are crucial to marketing to your customers. But if all your potential clients see is tips on how to increase traffic to your website or a retweet about a social media event, they still might not know what your business is capable of doing for them.
Here’s why companies and organization still need websites:
1. Provides a detailed description of products and services.
Every business and organization has a detailed list of their product and service offerings on their websites, which are not commonly listed on social media sites or blogs. Marketers know by now that it is not good practice to solely promote your business through social media, so it is important that you still have a place to host these details. However, you can use social media to direct traffic to the website, which should have a number of call-to-actions in place to direct your potential clients to where you want them to go.
2. Puts a face to the “personality” of the company.
If you have successfully created a brand identity with your social media presence, then you are already ahead of the game. Now, put faces to that name by having a page dedicated to your team. Include pictures, small bios, social media links, contact information, etc. to give people an idea of who you are. After all, people do business with people, not with businesses.
3. Showcases your work.
If you don’t have an online portfolio for your work, create one immediately. People don’t want you to tell them why you’re great, they want you to show them. Direct people to your online portfolio through calls-to-actions or through direct links on social media. Make people look at what you can do!
4. Allows people to get in touch with you.
While users can easily contact you via social media, most people prefer a more formal way to communicate regarding a business deal. This means contacting the sales or marketing team via email and phone. Every site should have a simple contact form that allows visitors to leave their name, phone number, email address, and comments. Make sure you have an effective system in place so that those leads are directed to the right people to ensure that these inquiries are answered within 24 hours.
Don’t rely on social media to generate business leads; use it to create a personality for your brand. Rely on the comprehensive nature of your website and the effective marketing actions of your team to instigate interest in your product and service offering.
Jenn Lisak, Project Manager at Fusework Studios, is a recent graduate of Butler University, where she majored in Marketing and Business Development. She currently resides in Broad Ripple with her new kitten, Delilah.
Jenn’s role at Fusework consists of client management, social media marketing, and creative development of the company.
She loves helping clients reach their marketing objectives, and she acts as an in-house social media consultant.
