I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again, you need a website for your business.
75% of people will judge whether your business is credible based on whether you have a website. That means 7 out of 10 people that hear about your business aren’t going to want to work with you. Solely based on whether or not you have a website. Not to mention that the design of your website will dictate whether or not your business is perceived as legit and credible.
Bottom line: if you want to appear like a professional business you need a strategic website.
How to Make Your Website Look Professional
Why Do I Need a Website if I’m Marketing on Social Media?
Reason #1 You Actually Own Your Website
Repeat after me. You DO NOT own Instagram, ol’ Zuckerberg does. In other words, Mr. Meta controls the platform. Social media can be great for marketing but at the end of the day, you have no control over it. If your business is built solely on Instagram and it decides to crash or quit working for no reason (this happened to me multiple times)—you really can’t do anything about it. You don’t need to be too scared and ditch social media entirely for marketing your creative business. But you do need to pair it with a website. Your social media accounts need to be supplemental, not vital.
How to Market Your Business Without Social Media
Instagram Marketing Alternatives for Introverts
Reason #2 24/7 Marketing Tool
Your website works for your business 24/7. If you have an online scheduler like Calendly on your website someone can book an appointment with you in the middle of the night. Or if you have e-commerce functionality on your website someone can purchase your products at the crack of dawn. Unlike social media, your website is not limited to posting at “just the right time”—where if you post at the wrong time it will make or break it whether your content is seen. <<< Regardless of how awesome or helpful it is. If you can get your latest blog post to rank on Google for your keywords it won’t matter what time of day someone is searching.
Reason #3 SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
Content on your website that’s SEO optimized can bring in new leads for years. Compared to social media posts that maybe last 24/48 hours. Not only does Google like it when you add new content to your website but it will also help build trust with potential clients. Adding new blogs to your website is one of the best ways to add content to your website. So that means if you do want to ditch Instagram entirely for your marketing—you can. Instead, you can create a much less social strategy using blogging and Pinterest combined.
Why You Need a Blog on Your Website
Now that you know why you need a website…
Isn’t a Website Hard to Design & Expensive?
The good news is that launching your new website doesn’t need to be hard or cost you an arm and a leg. If you use an easy-to-use drag-and-drop builder like Showit you can quickly get your website live without getting overwhelmed or breaking your budget.
Showit does come with some free templates but I usually recommend starting out with a third-party template from a designer. Yes, this won’t be totally free but by using a statically designed template from a web designer you can ensure your website will be set up to convert compared to if you DIYed it from scratch. If you’re interested in a third-party option you can view my Showit template shop here.