The Social Media Marketer

Is Social Media Replacing The Website?

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If you've got a business and you've ever worked on establishing a website, you know that it takes time and money to get a site up and running.

However, the trends for many people's web surfing these days isn't necessarily to surf websites, but instead to use Facebook, Twitter or one of many other social media sites to get the word out about their businesses.

Additionally, with the numerous people who are using their smartphones to access the Internet, many of them use their devices to check Facebook and Twitter, and little else. And if you have a website that is not optimized for smartphones or the iPad or other similar tablet device, it's likely that potential customers are going to bypass your website and just see what you have on Facebook.

So, with all that in mind, should you just do like some businesses are doing and skip building a website in favor of doing all of your marketing through social media?

A few years ago, Vitamin Water opted to do most of its marketing through Facebook, rather than through its website. It worked out pretty well, for the most part. Tens of thousands of people “friended” Vitamin Water and followed the product's campaigns, particularly after a huge advertising campaign led customers to the site.

There were pros and cons to the company marketing itself solely on Facebook. Of course, with the millions of subscribers on Facebook, it stands to reason that with the right advertising, some of those people will become your business' customers and may like you enough to keep following you.

However, if you use Facebook, how often do you really keep all those businesses you clicked “like” on your wall? If you're like many users, you've found that those businesses post so frequently, their posts take over our wall and you end up unliking them or hiding them again.

In an eyeopening report released by ExactTarget, it was revealed that, after extensive surveys with several online users, more than 90 percent of people unsubscribe from mails or unfriend pages on Facebook. People may sign on to your social site to begin with, but eventually, they will probably either lose interest with you or you'll annoy them in one way or another and they'll click that button – and they'll never look at you again.

According to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, many small businesses are turning to the use of Facebook or other sites, rather than traditional websites, because of the cost involved in building a website and the quickness and ease of social media.

The article said that the businesses are achieving some success because they don't really need a flashy website to get attention – they just need attention.

If you're considering using a social media site instead of a website to promote your business, it's important to remember a few things.

1. Keep it professional and monitor the comments all the time. You don't want spam to overtake your site.
2. Keep it updated and interact with your customers. If you're on social media, remember to remain social. While a website can remain static for some time, social media changes all the time.
3. Remember that the social media site is in control of what you are posting, where a website remains your own domain. This means that if someone complains that you are spamming them and the social media site agrees, they can take you down and your efforts will all be lost. Your website is more secure – as long as you pay your service provider and its operational, your information will always be there.
4. Keep in mind that not everybody uses social media sites. Further, not everybody trusts them, and worries about security may prevent them from visiting and sharing.
5. While sites like Facebook and Twitter are very powerful now, it's likely they won't always be. Remember MySpace, anyone?

Yes, using social media sites for your Internet presence can be very effective, particularly if you don't have money for a website. However, for a more permanent presence on the Internet, you might want to consider a website as well. This way, you can be sure that your message will remain out there, ready to view, for anyone who wishes to log onto your site name. It will always be in the same place and ready for your customers.

But, by all means, use social media to point your customers to your site! It will remain a very vital part of your marketing campaign.