The other day Instagram was down and every entrepreneur I know went into full panic mode and I realized how much we truly have invested in one platform. I mean don’t get me wrong, I absolutely LOVE the ‘gram, but it got me thinking… what if instagram disappeared tomorrow?

Just a few days prior to this, I was listening to a podcast where a marketing guru was saying her prediction was that instagram would be dead in a few years. I don’t want to believe that at all, but also, it provokes a really valid question that we should all be asking ourselves:

Do we have an audience that can access us far beyond just our social media pages?

I mean, think about it. Back in 2007 MySpace was IT. Everyone invested countless hours into making their pages the best. Businesses were on it paying for advertising and utilizing the platform to get their fans.

Andddd then, poof. MySpace was gone. Allll of those hours and time people invested into the platform went away. Everyone had to figure out a totally new platform to start on, to share their brand message.

Kinda scary, right? That these social media platforms we spend SO much time on can really just disappear, leaving us with a next to nothing audience and no where to share our message?

This is why you need your own space on the web. Here are six reasons why even though you have social media, you still need a website: 

1.You own it. By using social media, we are essentially borrowing someone else’s land, right? But by having our own website, our own email lists, our own brand, we can still exist (and grow, and thrive) far beyond the limitations that social media may give us. We still have a business that is running and spinning the wheels, even when social media is down.

2. Social media is crowded. The content you are working so hard on isn’t even being seen by all of your audience (like, wayyyyyy less than half) because there is just SO much on the platform. Even if your messaging and niche are on point, you still are just one post in a sea of many.

3. Websites convert. If your web designer is an expert in their field and what they do, your site will convert visitors into paying customers. Social media is INCREDIBLE for brand awareness, but at the end of the day, your website is essentially an employee working 24/7 for you to tell your offers and sell your services, and answer any questions potential clients/customers may have.

4. A website helps you get found. UHM, hello, SEO! If you really want to stand out against your competition (particularly if you are a local business and/or brick-and-mortar) people are going to be looking for you through Google. Google won’t index your latest Instagram post when someone is searching for the best person in town to do the job, but if your website is done well and optimized for SEO, it will show up. 

5. Call-to-actions aren’t as streamlined. Say you tell someone in your most recent instagram post to reach out if they are interested in your services and book a call. Perfect! You should be using a call-to-action, but how are they supposed to reach out? Though DM’s? That strategy is messy and unorganized and hard to keep up with inquiries. You’ll have to do a lot of back-and-forth to get things scheduled and the right questions asked. BUT, if you direct people to reach out through your site- BAM. You can have a solid intake form they fill out, and know their pain points before even hopping on a call. You can show you credibility and professionalism from the start!

6. Detailed analytics. Having a website where you can check out the analytics will help you SO much in knowing exactly what is converting, who you are attracting, and how long they are staying. While social media has super limited analytics, the amount of analytics that you get from a site are much more detailed, thorough, and useful!

SO, guys, invest in your OWN space on the world wide web, where you have control of what is going on. Don’t wait until your favorite social media platform becomes obsolete (and can we all just pray Instagram doesn’t, because I love it just as much as you do!) 

READY TO INVEST IN YOUR SITE AND STAY KNOWN? LET’S HOP ON A CALL.