Getting Your Business Noticed:
Simply put, engaging on social media AND having a business website that work together is the most effective way to do business online. In an ideal world, all small businesses would do both. But sometimes that isn’t realistic for a small business right off the bat.

In that case, it may make sense for some small businesses getting online for the first time to use a social media platform as a temporary stand-in for a website. Social media platforms have a built-in base of potential customers, are free or lowcost, and have minimal commitment – a great way to test the online waters. However, keep in mind you won’t have as much control over your social media Web page. One way to minimize this is to register your business’s domain name, or Web address, and have the Web address ‘point’ to your social media page (or eventually a website). This will allow you to have your online identity, build your brand, and market your business with a professional-looking, branded Web address that is memorable. In fact, 70% of consumers are more likely to visit a business’s Facebook page if they could get to it directly by typing in a Web address.

The intent of social media is as a marketing tool, and small business expert and advocate Rieva Lesonsky recommended in a recent seminar that eventually “every small business needs a website.” Given the ease of building a website these days, it’s actually possible for you to build one on your own.

Download and read the PDF, then meet with a SCORE mentor for expert business planning advice.

Social media Website