If social media vanished, would your business go with it?
You wake up one morning to a phone flooded with messages; Instagram has been SHUT DOWN.
Twitter and Facebook are in absolute chaos over the news. People are crying on TikTok and YouTube. Artists and influencers mourn the loss of their profiles, in a sense, their portfolios. Brands and their Instagram shopping experiences have been wiped clean. Local and federal governments break down (probably).
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While that didn’t quite happen when Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp went down this week, it may have felt like it for some of us.
Social media is ever changing. Yes, it’s (arguably) great that it always has more to offer, but at the same time, it’s unstable. What happens when Instagram dies down and a new platform tries to take its place? You have to build your audience from scratch. Zero followers. No online shop. No photo or video gallery.
For some of us, the change could be devastating. Social media has become a major funnel for sales and exposure.
As it is, social media platforms compete constantly. Heck, ten years ago, Instagram didn’t even exist. Facebook was the powerhouse, and before that? MySpace.
For some small businesses, it’s easier to conduct business primarily out of social media. It’s simple. You can engage with your audience, manage messages, and easily post updates. You can do everything, right?
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WRONG.
Think of your brand’s presence as a house.
You have your base, your foundation, the very ground you walk on. That’s your brand personality.
Then there are the walls. These are all the bricks in your brand construction. Your brand assets, your website, your brand ID video, and your logo.
Then there are windows and doors to the soul. Social media, advertisements, print materials, merch, campaigns, etc, etc, etc.
A house can’t stand without bricks! (The two unlucky little pigs have tried and failed already.)
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A website, a formal base of online operations for your customers, is critical. A single, uniform place that’s easy to navigate takes precedence over social media. Social media profiles just can’t do it all and are too susceptible to change.
So… build a website! Even if it’s a simple landing page with just a few helpful buttons. Even if it’s a free site that is missing some features. GET ON THE WEB.