As a homesteader, do you need a website in a world focused on social media? The short answer is yes.
With the pay-to-play mindset most social networks have these days by making you pay to reach your followers, having a website is super important.
Today, we will be going over four reasons why you need a website in addition to your social media accounts.
1. Social Media Posts Aren't Search Engine Visible
People are using Google, Bing, and other search engines to find businesses. These search engines put websites above social media profiles, and they don’t see all of your social media posts. So that means even if you have an active social media account, you still won’t be seen by the people that are searching for businesses online.
However, your potential customers can find your products, blogs and everything else if you add it to your website (even if it is the same posts you add to your Facebook page). A benefit to marketing content from your website is that all of your articles are available in one place, making it easier for people to keep reading your posts.
2. Social Media Reach Is Fading
Social media sites have become pay-to-play platforms. If you want to reach your own followers, you have to pay for ads.
By having your own newsletter built into your website, you can be confident that your customers will have a guaranteed way to get your updates without a third party controlling who you are reaching.
3. Social Media Might Not Be Here To Stay
While Facebook, Instagram, and other social media sites are super popular right now, you can never quite know what might happen in the future. MySpace and Vine were huge back in the day, but both saw a big decline as Facebook and Twitter gained popularity.
Facebook claims that people spent 50 million fewer hours on their site in 2018 than they did the year before.
It may happen that Instagram stops being cool in 3-5 years when some other social media site comes along! If properly updated and maintained, your will website be a consistent online storefront and won't give in to fads or trends. This is a stability that no social network can provide.
4. Facebook Won’t Let You Sell Or Talk About Your Animals or Animal By-Products
Facebook has restricted what homesteaders can sell in groups, so you cannot mention animals or animal by-products without risking losing your account or getting the group deleted.
This can be a big hit to businesses selling things like eggs, goats, cattle or poultry (or trying desperately to give away their guinea fowl). A website provides a place for people to get the details about your animals or animal by-products.
A website is especially important if you are selling an animal breed that is niche and requires additional information to convince people to buy.
In conclusion:
A website paired with a solid social media marketing plan is a powerful way to reach more people and make more sales. You get all the benefits and none of the drawbacks.
Now that you know that you need a website, the next thing you should do is to learn what pages you need to make your website successful. Click here to watch the Essential Pages For A Successful Homestead Website webinar.