“Do I really need a website and social media to run a business?”
This may be one of the number one questions I see online from business owners.
If you want my honest answer—umm…obviously, right?!—it’s a no.
Of course you can run a business without these things! I mean let’s be real—the internet isn’t that old! I can still remember sitting in my house as a kid, waiting eight hours for a single song to download.
That said, if I wanted to listen to that same song today, I could have it queued up on Spotify before you finished reading this email. The world is changing, and the way people do business is changing too.
So while you can HAVE a business minus a website, Instagram, and all the rest, some kind of online presence is rapidly becoming necessary if you want to GROW it.
Think about it this way: Your website is kind of like the digital version of a brochure.
One of the first things a potential customer or client might do is Google you. Now imagine if they did a quick Google search on your company and nothing came up? Their first thought could be, “Is this a scam?”
Yikes. Not the first impression you’re looking for.
In fact, the other day I was hanging out in a Facebook group where a woman said the first thing she does to learn about a business is to go to their website, even if they have social media. If they don’t have a website, she questions whether they’re even legit and won’t buy from them.
In today’s digital world, your ideal consumer wants to learn more about YOU. They want to get to know you and feel a connection before they invest in you.
I recently found a new fitness expert on YouTube. I immediately loved her workouts and wanted to learn more. I searched her YouTube channel and social media pages, but couldn’t find basic info about her. It was super hard to find her actual website, and even then, she didn’t have an about page. I was craving more information about her and her approach, but I couldn’t find A THING. That was a huge missed opportunity to lead me into that next step on a journey with her.
This is a prime example of how not having an online presence can impact the growth of your business.
Just some food for thought.. Would you buy from a business that had no online presence?
