Invest into your Website - Not Facebook
Too many times we are asked about what clients should and shouldn’t do when it comes to marketing their websites. One of the biggest missed opportunities is actually updating or adding new content to your website. Too many clients today place more effort into updating information, photos, or content onto their Facebook than their website. As a result, your website goes dead or untouched. Yes, Facebook is free. Yes, Facebook does allow you to connect with friends. But, that is the problem- it is your friends that are viewing the updates, not future clients.
Connecting
Facebook is great for connecting with friends and family, however it is not necessarily a good tool for marketing your hunting or outfitting business. Facebook is a social network to display photos and "like" topics. It is difficult for someone that you are not acquainted with to find your businesses Facebook page without having already heard of you or having a mutual friend with you. In addition, although you may find it hard to believe- not everyone has a Facebook page. Not once have I heard a client say his or her Facebook is more powerful tool than their website.
Facebook owns your content?
Yep! Facebook owns your content and your business page. Who owns your website content? You. So it's time you invested time into your own stuff and not other peoples stuff.
Invest in your website
There is something fundamentally wrong here when hunting outfitters are updating their Facebook page but won't put any effort into their website. It's time we all changed around our thinking to invest our time on making our website the best it can be and use the social media secondary and not as your primary way to deliver content to your users.
Why are you posting on Facebook?
First stop and think about why you are posting on your Facebook company page. Is it because it's easier to use than updating your website? Is it because you have a lot of engaged Facebook users? Do you like Facebook better than your website?
Who is your target market?
The real question is, who is my buyer and how are they finding me? I can honestly say that in the last 2 years, I can't remember remember more than a handful of quality leads that have came through Facebook and resulted in a purchase of a hunt.
Take elk hunting and H&A Outfitters as a example. Do you think H&A clients are booking their hunt and starting their search for a elk hunting outfitter on Facebook?
Spent your time efficiently
I've had a few heart to heart talks with some of my clients over the past 2 years about where they should be spending their time updating their internet presence.
Think about all of that time that it takes to update your Facebook page, connecting with users, responding, posting status updates and posting photos. What if you had spent that time building blog posts, linking, posting seasonal photos and investing time into your website?
You may be even on the front page for some heavy hitting search engine terms like "New Mexico Elk Hunts". With that time invested, you have found your phone rings 4 times what it did the previous year when you were spending all of your effort on Facebook and social media.
Update your website
The beauty of the custom site management system that 3plains has developed is that clients can add content and update photos is just as easily as updating a status on Facebook. In addition, your website is far more likely to be found by the general public than a Facebook page. Updating a website page or adding a new blog post to your website will benefit your company far more than a status update does.
Fresh content and Google
Google thrives on updates and fresh content to your website. If you truly want to be on the first page in Google for your website, it's time you put some effort into your website. That doesn't mean calling your web guys up and say get to work and I'll pay you.
I'd rather see you as the owner work with your current web company to come up with a content strategy and deliver your message to your targeted customers in a profession and usable manner. Don't just slap up content and expect results. Engage users and give them what they want.
Let your customers know what's going on at your blog. At the minimum, write 6-12 good blog posts in a given year and let your potential clients and current clients know what's going with your business and seasonal results on at your website. View Andy Salgado's blog at H&A Outfitters - https://www.nmbiggamehunting.com/blog/ Andy does a great job posting relevant and pertinent information for his clients and his target market is more likely to read his blog posts vs. his Facebook.
Think about your content and be diligent. When your customers or potential customers call you asking questions on upcoming dates, write a blog post about it. After the season is over, write a blog post about it and talk about the season success. Potential customers and past clients want to see this stuff. They may not visit your site more than a couple times a year, but make it count when they do.
Conclusion
Invest in your website and use your social media like Facebook to support your website and to link back to your website. Social media is important, but we need to shift our thinking around a bit as a hunting outfitting business.
Posted in: Hosting & CMS, Marketing, SEO / SEM, Social Media