Is social media good for your business?

Few days back Facebook and its sister apps were down for a good 6 hours, normally when a company that provides web design and hosting services preaches about the downside of solely having your business on social media, it comes off as a tone-deaf sales pitch.

While I am not all about beating a dead horse, I think now is an opportune time to outline other benefits of owing your own website independent of social media.

1. This is the most important reason of all, a personal website is centralized. This means, all your information is in one place, and unlike social media, it can be categorized (sorted by topic) and also viewable without your potential client having an account.
2. Owning your own website, allows you to own your content without the risk of moderation. Owning your content is not the only benefit, sometimes for whatever reason, social media platforms shut down, and several big names have fallen victim to this, if your business is entirely dependent on one platform, you can be sure that you are screwed.
3. Social media platforms should be an extension of your business’ digital presence, they should not be “be-all end-all”. They can be used to promote your business, but only as far as an extension of something should.

I could list about 10 more reasons why your social media shouldn’t be your business portfolio or HQ, but if these three do not convince you, nothing I say will.

Owning and managing a website comes with a cost definitely, but it is a cost worth spending on, as the benefits outweigh the cost. If the last few days are to count for something in the realm of expenses, its that cheap (especially free) is expensive.