How To Reach Your Customers In A
Saturated Worldwide Market
As a business owner, you want to get your products or services out into the world. In today’s day and age, the internet has made that challenge quite achievable. However, with over a billion websites and social media accounts out there, it can sometimes feel as though you’re throwing a pebble into the ocean. How can you decide what marketing efforts and marketing mediums would be the right option for your business? Do you choose social media, or a website, or both?
As a digital marketer with over ten year’s experience both client-side and agency-side, I would like to share some of the main reasons I believe merchants and business owners would benefit from the latter – both a website and social media accounts.
A Website Helps You:
Access Higher Visibility On The Google Search Engine
As of September 2021, Google was processing over 5.6 billion searches per day worldwide, which equates to over 2 trillion searches per year. It is estimated that around 92% of all internet searches are conducted on Google, meaning that customers still search for what they want to purchase.
Having a website can improve your search engine ranking as the technology scans the content on a website for specific keywords and then ranks the website accordingly. It can also improve the user experience for those who search for your business on the Google Business listings.
Gain More Control Over Your Content
Sure, images are great, but search engines still read written content. Having a dedicated content management system (CMS) to build out the pages of your website means more content for search engines and more content for your readers. Perhaps you wish to start a blog and share about company updates, or fill your homepage with more details about your products or services. High-quality, valuable, and relevant content can be a fine advantage for the success of an online business strategy.
Improve Accessibility For Your Users
As a business owner, it can be important to allow information about your products or services to be accessible by those who exist outside of the realm of social media. Think of those who don’t have various social media apps in their country or those who cannot always use social media because of the lack of accessibility for persons with disabilities. Some age groups might not use social media as much as the Gen Zs, and rely on a search engine or a pamphlet with a link to a website. Once you have established your target audience, it might be worth researching if they spend more time on social media or prefer to visit a more detailed website.
Improve The Security Of Your Information
Social media can be a tempting target for hackers. We all know that one person who had their Instagram or Facebook hacked. Despite the best efforts of social media companies to secure their platforms, there are often vulnerabilities in the system that can be exploited by hackers. Websites, on the other hand, offer more control over the content and are protected by a different set of security measures. They are generally designed to perform a specific set of functions, such as displaying information or allowing users to purchase products, and are less of a target for hackers.
Access More Detailed Data Analytics
Although both websites and social media platforms offer data analytics tools that can provide valuable insights into user behaviour and engagement, websites – specifically e-commerce websites, can offer more when it comes to data analytics. Websites can leverage tools like Google Analytics, heatmaps, session recordings and A/B testing to help a business owner understand the way their customer interacts with their brand and their website experience. These tools can offer great insights into the customer persona, such as: if the customer is a returning customer; what their average cart value is; and if they access certain information on a website e.g. the brand’s sustainability policies.
To conclude, if you want more control and flexibility over the way your put your business out into the world, a website can be a great addition to your business strategy.
About the Author:
Bianca Caruana is the marketing manager at award-winning, e-commerce agency, Matter Design & Digital. She has over ten year’s experience in digital marketing for both agency and client-side, helping business owners to maximise their efforts when it comes to reaching their audience. Bianca firmly believes in taking a sustainable approach to both business and marketing, and is an advocate for ethics and sustainability in this industry.