As a business owner, you take a consistent inventory of our physical assets. You account for office supplies, machinery, vehicles, land, among other physical assets. How you utilize your business assets often determines whether your business succeeds or fails.
The popularity of the Internet has created another business asset. It’s easy to neglect this asset for the allure of social media websites, you know, those wonderful places where everyone congregates to learn more about your products and services. Your #1 business asset online is not Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn.
Your “real estate” on those sites is rented property. You do not own them. Those social media companies can shut down your business pages, without giving you any notice. Here today, gone tomorrow, is a very realistic possibility and you have no control over it.
Despite the raging popularity of Facebook, there is no guarantee it will be here forever. Everyone thought AOL and MySpace would dominate Internet marketing strategies for decades and look what happened. Your primary business asset online should not be something that, like a David Copperfield act, can disappear right before your eyes.
If your Facebook business page does not represent an asset, then what online asset do you have to attract more customers? You need to invest your time and money in a tangible online asset. The only option you have is to maximize the return of your own small business website. This asset allows your business to gain exposure to new local and regional customers. How you approach creating your small business website determines who enters your online front door.
Your small business website provides you a way to develop a convenient platform where you can provide original content and build your brand. Your website becomes an asset, one that you cultivate with as much care as any physical asset your business owns.
We’re not saying you should ignore social media. There is no doubt social media is important in the overall marketing mix. However, we’re advocating that you should spend the majority of your time and money building up your own small business website. Your social media efforts should compliment your website – not replace it!
