Stop Prioritizing Social Media Over Your Website (or Lack Thereof!)

In a world that relies so heavily on social media, it's easy to see why most businesses invest all of their resources into building a strong social following. We hate to be the bearers of bad news, but curating your brand solely off of Instagram or TikTok is not a sustainable way to offer your products or services to your audience.

Here's our Top 5 Reasons why possessing a professional website is absolutely crucial if you want to scale your business and make a lasting impression on both first-time and returning consumers.

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1. Your brand identity shouldn't be at the risk of algorithms 

You’ve probably heard of creators or business owners discuss being “lost” in their audiences’ algorithms. Now more than ever, even social media experts and content creators are frustrated with the lack of visibility their posts and profiles are receiving as platforms such as Instagram continue to diversify their algorithmic structure, claiming that the technology helps users see similar content suggestions.

Hootsuite explains an algorithm as “a set of rules and signals that rank content on a social platform,” citing the ideal purpose as pushing media to users based on what they’ve recently interacted with. However, this complex technology isn’t foolproof. 

Because the inner mechanism are constantly changing, creators are posed with the challenge of pushing out relative content and posting cadences that align with algorithms’ varying specifications. For example, Instagram feeds alone (not taking into account stories, Reels, or the Explore page) currently adhere to 5+ ranking factors for each piece of content, each with their own nuances (think of things like location, date, and time of the post.)

The subsequent limitation of algorithms is the creation of “echo chambers” wherein the user is only suggested and consumes similar content. This is a huge pitfall for break-out businesses and those trying to build an online presence with a new audience. Verve Creative comments on the echo chamber effect, warning that it “can intensify audience divisions,” as “content that resonates strongly with one segment can alienate or be hidden entirely from another.”

As you’re trying to grow your brand’s digital presence, you may find yourself relying heavily on the engagement you receive from one platform while completely neglecting other channels. This “over-reliance” is a common mistake for digital marketers and business promoters as they tend to craft their strategies around platform-specific algorithms. Oftentimes, they tend to miss opportunities to create more diversification across multiple channels, and that lack of presence could harm the brand as platform popularity and algorithms constantly change.

Your brand shouldn’t fall victim to the fate of limited character count, content restriction, and algorithm changes. A website is more flexible and gives you the control, while centralizing all of your information and offerings in one trustworthy place. 

2. The Halo Effect: What’s your audience’s first impression?

The spoken and unspoken associations that people make with your company are up to you in the beginning. Your control thereafter slowly declines as each individual brings their own biases and connections to the table, so it’s important to make an impact when you can. The Halo Effect, according to TEGNA, could be explained as “a cognitive bias, or a form of stereotyping, where a person will assume certain traits based on first impressions.”

Sounds simple, but when it comes to creating a solid online presence, there’s a lot more factors to consider than having complementary brand colors and a few good product shots.

The Halo Effect comes into play, consciously or unconsciously, with every piece of visual content we consume. In layman’s terms, our brains immediately start searching for similar thoughts, feelings, memories, sensations, etc. to help us make an informed opinion on whatever we’re currently experiencing. That being said, we all have countless associations that we’re not even aware of, and they can form in the blink of an eye. 

Think of the way we regard certain colors--purple represents royalty and luxury, maybe blue signifies cleanliness or sterility. A white-centric, monochromatic theme could communicate simplicity and modernity, which some may associate with higher value. Little nuances like these may seem small, but they could add up to whether or not a viewer decides to remain on your landing page or social profile instead of clicking off. 

This “snap judgment” can be both positive and negative, wherein someone may look at one small aspect of your brand and then have a good or bad disposition towards everything about it. For example, a consumer who has exclusively owned golden retrievers their entire life may see an advertisement for an apparel brand, which features a female walking her golden retriever while wearing the brand’s activewear. Before the viewer knows it, they’re already assuming positive feelings and opinions about the brand, despite only seeing a 45 second clip of their most recent merchandise line. This type of impression not only lasts, but increases the likelihood of consumers returning to your brand during transactional research or recommending your products to a friend. 

A good designer is more than familiar with the Halo Effect and how it contributes to the effectiveness and user experience of your website. These first impressions are crucial, and could be indicative of that first-user becoming a returning visitor–hopefully traveling through the entirety of your sales funnel to complete a transaction or submit a lead generation form. Unlike social media, you have more control over how your users perceive and interact with your content on a website, and you’ll be able to structure your pages to skillfully guide each audience segment through your funnel.

Simply put: Wouldn’t you rather trust a brand with a professional website over one that only has a Facebook page? If deciding between two brands for the same category of product, what translates better: A fully functional eCommerce website, or an Etsy storefront? And finally, if you’re looking to convert leads, would it be more effective to post a link on your Instagram story, or embed lead gen forms on eye-catching landing pages that specifically target your audience?

3. You’re missing out on free organic traffic with SEO

The best part about organic traffic? It’s free, and if done right, it continues to regenerate results. We won’t go into the nitty-gritty of Search Engine Optimization here, but we’ll emphasize the importance of having an expert on your side as you lay the foundation for your site (not to worry, already existing sites can be reformatted for SEO, too!) 

Not only will it help search engines index your site better to appear in more relevant search results, but it will also increase something called Domain Authority (created by Moz)  the longer your site exists on the web. This is a slow process, so you’ll want to get started relatively early in your business’s online journey. Your DA is assigned with a lot of differing factors, but it essentially tells Google to show your website to searchers over others who may not have as solid of a technical SEO foundation. 

A good designer can sit down with you and discuss different types of searches you’d like to appear for, such as “Cruelty-free skincare” or “Food truck near me,” and present you with a keyword mapping plan to format each of your pages for optimal visibility in these areas. In addition, you’ll want someone on your side who can review the types of queries your pages are already ranking for, which can be discovered with tools such as Google Search Console. They’ll be able to help you pivot your strategy for your site so that more relevant leads are coming to your pages. 

So, before you consider pouring more funds into paid advertising, reach out to a web designer and have them complete an SEO assessment on your existing website, or talk to them about your goals for your new one. Your bottom line will thank you!

4. Don’t all of your competitors have websites?

Sounds glaringly obvious, but have you looked at your competitors’ websites lately? What do they have in common, how do they use their site to stand out? Your website is a key tool to stand out in a crowded market, especially with other brands focusing their efforts on short-lived social media trends and paid advertising. 

Let’s pretend that you’re deciding which company to choose for a home renovation project, such as a new roof. This is a big investment, so you’re doing plenty of research into local roofing businesses online before giving one a call for a quote. You come across one that has a Google Business Profile and a Facebook page, but no website. Do you choose this company over one that has a website, full of customer testimonials, a solid business overview video, and an online quote request form? Of course not!

This applies to any industry–retail, food, you name it. Consumers want to see that you are invested in your business, own a domain with your company name in it, and have the online functions necessary for them to contact you and learn more about your offerings. It’s harder to communicate this value on a social media platform, as most are formatted for short-form content and less customizations. 

That being said, a website gives you an opportunity to tell your business’s story–who you are, your mission, your team, and how you can help solve your consumers’ problems. Your unique selling points and positioning are much more identifiable, and those leads who are in the discovery phase of your sales funnel will be more likely to consider your brand than one without a site.

5. A professional website is the ultimate investment & warrants an uncapped ROl (if done right!)

So, you’re ready to take the plunge. You’ve chosen your design team, you have a general idea of what you want your site to look like and the functions you need, and now you’re panicking when it’s time to pay the deposit. Or, you’re taking on the site’s creation all on your own, with the help of trusty YouTube Academy. It’s common to be intimidated by the upfront costs with websites–deposits, purchasing domains, choosing a host, setting up online payments. 

This is where you need to keep the big picture in mind–remember all of the benefits we mentioned above, and how these easily outweigh the traction you’ve gained on social media. This is not to say that you should abandon the social ship, obviously–in fact, having your website linked in your socials is another easy way to build your online presence, along with aligning your social media strategy with your website’s visual identity (more on social SEO later.)

Depending on your industry, the functional aspects of your website are the real moneymakers. Why have your reservation bookings on OpenTable, your menu on your Google Business Profile, your food truck schedule on StreetFoodFinder, your testimonials on Facebook, and your merch store on Etsy?

Golden rule of consumerism: Your customers don’t want to have to work to find the information they need about your business. Modern scrollers are very demanding with their attention span and time. You could lose them the moment they feel confused about where to go, ultimately pushing them into the hands of competitors (RE: Tip 3!)

A good designer lays out your site with common consumer behavior in mind, prioritizing their experience on both mobile and desktop to ensure they have easy access to everything your brand has to offer. This equals less items left in carts, fewer unfinished bookings, and no more half-filled-out lead forms. 

When it comes to site layout, there’s resources available–and a LOT of opinions about what’s best. If you’re unsure, consider speaking with a web design professional about your goals and vision for your site. For example, our designers are thoroughly briefed on how to optimize each page of a website for things like load time, image clarity, and user accessibility, which are three key components of your visitors’ experience (and will ultimately have them coming back for more!)

To summarize: The above five reasons are only a few key benefits of having a solid website associated with your brand identity. While social media is a significant player in your online presence, nothing beats the sustainability of a good website. For more information on how a professional site can help scale your business, click here.