Hey, Nick Ponte here. At my Maui advertising agency, we help local businesses come up with strategic plans to build their business and increase revenue. We’ve been talking about how businesses can improve their websites, but what if you don’t have your own website. Do you need one? Will social media pages be sufficient to reach customers?
The short answer: Your business requires a professional website. I know of one boutique shop that thought they could continue marketing solely through their Facebook page, but they eventually had traffic drop off from their page. That resulted in a drop in new business growth, and thus a loss in revenue.
Think a website isn’t a relevant need for your business? Think again.
Also Read: The Importance of Online Marketing for Hawaii Businesses—And Four Ways to Start
Hawaii Web Design: Why a Website Makes a Bigger Difference than Social Media
Even if you have a Facebook page or a presence on other social media platforms, you still need a website. Social media algorithms change all the time, often without notice. This changes the way users see your information, even changing how they access your posts and business page.
Sometimes social media platforms stop supporting business accounts. Sometimes the platforms even disappear altogether. Last year, businesses struggled to maintain contact with their customers when Facebook’s servers went down. The truth is, these platforms can change how they let you interact with customers at any point, and you have no control over it.
However, with a website, you own the domain, and you have control of what it looks like. You even get to have some control over its visibility on search engines through SEO. A website lets you introduce your business to your ideal customers. Plus, you can be sure that your competitors already have websites, and they are certainly pursuing your audience. To stay on top, you have to outrun your competition!
Hiring a Maui advertising agency can speed up the process for you and help you ensure you have all the necessary features. They’ll also help you know how to continue on the path of successful search engine optimization.
Let me share 5 benefits your business will get because of a great website.
Also Read: Driving Your Business to Online Success
5 Benefits of a Great Website
Invest in a quality website, and see these incredible benefits.
- Boosted Credibility
A professional business website makes your business look more legitimate to users. It lets them know you intend to be around for a while because you’ve invested time and money in a site. It lets them know you’re not just another spammy Facebook page. A website makes you appear as the professional operation that you are.
Plus, Google and other search engines are more likely to put your site in results because of the boosted credibility. You continue to build credibility with search engines, as well, when you add more content over time.
- Join the Buyer’s Journey
If a user comes across your ad on social media, they probably won’t take the next step if you don’t have a website because the journey basically ends with the ad. They don’t know what further step they should take, and they’ll likely lose interest at that moment. The buyer’s journey ends before it begins.
But with a website, you have the opportunity to set up a landing page, make connections, and establish interest from potential buyers. A well-designed website allows you to lead users further along into their buyer’s journey and answer their questions along the way. Even if you don’t currently have an eCommerce feature, having a website allows you the freedom to make that decision in the future if you want.
- Increased Visibility
The global market has been pushed even more digital in the last two years. If you want to be seen by customers in Hawaii, you need a website. While folks have stayed home in lieu of going out to shop for what they need, digital marketplaces have filled in the gaps. Consumers search the internet for products and services. If you want in on the attention, you have to enter the places the consumers go.
- Control Over Design
Your website looks how you want it to look, unlike social media, which strictly limits your design to the layout of those platforms. With a website, you don’t have to keep up with continuously changing rules of social media platforms. So many of these rest under the same ownership and servers, so if something goes wrong, your information is subject to their timing and repairs.
When you have your own website, you choose where and how your images and videos get displayed to viewers. Plus, you can include reviews. Additionally, you can add and subtract pages as necessary. You get to control the functions according to the needs of your business.
- Improved Customer Service
Having a website does more than just help customers find you. It really helps to fine-tune all aspects of your business. If you already have simple questions answered on the website, it saves employees from having to answer them on phone calls. That gives employees the freedom to manage more efficient work schedules.
Customize your site by including features like FAQs and customer service forms for quick info from leads. Don’t forget to include contact and location information!
Many small business owners find they don’t have the time or the staff to maintain a website, even though they recognize a web presence would benefit them. Luckily, advertising agencies can help with this. We offer continued services for Hawaii website updates and SEO.
If you want to learn more or want help, reach out to us today!
Further Reading: 3 Easy SEO Wins for Hawaii Business Owners to Quickly Increase Their Reach
Photos Courtesy of Michaela, Cristofer Maximilian, Scott Graham