I’ve actually come across people who regretted having set up their corporate website. When I ask them why they regretted it, it’s almost always because their website isn’t generating the traffic that they expect. When probed further whether they regularly update their website with fresh contents, the standard reply is always “… but I already regularly update my social media accounts…“
Why Do I Even Need A Corporate Website?
The most common reason is because “everybody I know has one…” While that’s a reasonably valid reason, it does reflect poorly on that person’s or company’s mentality. Because then your corporate website will be nothing more than just an entry in the proverbial yellow pages. Just like the physical phone directory of the yesteryears, it does nothing more than list your company’s address and phone number. In other words, it’s an undead website.
A corporate website is your very own platform to reach out to your audience. It’s your very own personal media space to tell your story. And most importantly, it cost literary peanuts to advertise in when compared to the traditional media space. So it’s totally unthinkable that so many corporate websites out there in cyberspace does nothing more than display addresses and phone numbers.
Would you rent a front-door facing retail space, in the most popular mall in town, with the highest foot traffic, just to hang a poster to display your company address and phone number?… Goodness gracious, of course not!… It’s a total waste of the rental, right?…
But what if the rental of the said front-door facing retail space, in the most popular mall in town, with the highest foot traffic, costs mere pennies?… Would you still do the same thing?… Hmmm… Now that’s something to really think about.
Yes, it’s theoretically possible to do just that, but it’s still a complete waste of a golden opportunity. You’re much better off using that retail space to display your merchandise, and spread your message across with attractive looking interior designs and posters.
Now imagine your corporate website is that retail space… Would you still just hang a poster to display your company address and phone number?…
But I Update My Social Media Accounts Regularly…
Congratulations to you for maintaining an active social media presence. But do you realise that you don’t actually own the social media space?…
Social media does help you spread your word across to a very wide audience. The catch is (yes, there certainly is one…), that your update will only remain visible until the page is refreshed. And that’s only an average of about five seconds… That’s right, your latest post will last no longer than five seconds. Regardless how attractive your entry is, or how much it relates to your audience, it’ll be pushed all the way down the page very quickly at the next page refresh.
Social media is very useful to help spread your word out quickly and stir up interests. But if it’s used entirely on its own, then it won’t be very effective at all. As quickly as the interest is generated, it’ll also die down just as quick. What you really need is a permanent space to hold all your content, and use the social media only as a pointer to direct traffic to your actual content. And what better choice of a permanent space to hold your content than your own corporate website?… You see, you actually own your website. And the contents are permanently there (unless you choose to bring them down yourself), and is always available for your visitors to consume.
Bonus Reasons For Having A Corporate Website
Having a corporate website usually means you have your own domain name. And with that, you can create domain name based official email addresses. What better way to express a brand identity and consistency than to have domain name based email addresses? It oozes professionalism, and seriousness.
Imagine what message you’re conveying with an official corporate email address based on a public email service. Yes, the likes of Gmail, Yahoo!, Hotmail, etc. Then compare myname@gmail.com with myname@mycompany.com. Which official email address reflects more professionalism when printed on your business card?
That plus the peace of mind of your potential clients when they see that you actually took the effort to set up your own corporate website. You see, by actually having a corporate website identity, it shows that you’ve invested heavily into setting up a reputable business. And that you’re not a fly-by-night company, disappearing soon after receiving the payment of the first transaction with your clients.
While the conditions above may or may not actually happen in real life, it really will reflect positively on your existing and potential clients. A positive reputation is worth a whole lot more than having to convince people to trust you with their money in the first place.
Your Take Away From This Article
If you have to choose between having only a website or social media accounts, always choose the website. A corporate website is yours, and you’re in total control of the content that you share there. Corporate social media accounts are good to stir up interests, but are pretty useless when used on their own. Remember, you won’t actually own the social media platform. You’re merely hitching a ride on their bandwagon only.
