Social media is a very powerful marketing tool that can be used to reach potential customers and increase brand awareness. Knowing this, many small business owners have been led to believe that having a social media presence is enough to successfully market their business online. Unfortunately, this is not the case.

Although social media can be seen as relatively easy and low-cost, but for it to produce any tangible results, it must be used as part of a larger marketing strategy. When used alone, it isn`t enough to market your company. You will need a professionally designed website if you really want to be online and experience success online.
That being said, here are 3 reasons why relying solely on social media won`t get your business very far.

1.Social Media is a rented space that doesn`t truly belong to you
One of the most obvious dangers of depending on social media alone for promoting your business is that you have no control over it. Sure, you can customize your profile and create your own posts, but ultimately you are using someone else`s platform to build your business, which means the fate of your company rests in their hands. In other words, you do not own your social media account. Rules and regulations on social media changes every time with little regards to how this affect your marketing plans and strategies. Social media itself is a business, not a free service

A few weeks ago, Instagram stopped loading feeds for about 20 minutes and some businesses panicked because ideally, it`s like being locked out of your rented apartment with all your properties still in it. With your own website, you have total control. If social media is rented digital space, your website is your permanent digital home. You have full ownership of your content, can dictate how you communicate with your target audience, boost your credibility and reputation as a credible company because having your own professional website shows that you are willing to invest in your business and that you take it seriously, which will encourage your customers to take you seriously too.

2.Social media serves as a bridge between your customers and your company
If the measure of your online success is in turning your target audience into paying customers, then social media is only part of the journey, not the destination. This is because, social media should be used as a lead generator, with the ultimate goal of sending visitors to your website. Your website needs to be the home of all your content and the center of all your online marketing efforts. When social media users visit your website, it will give them the opportunity to see everything you offer, know more about it, and eventually convert them to customers. Your website is the end point of your customer`s journey, as it is there that they will buy products or services, call you directly or sign up for further communication.

One of the most effective ways to experience online success is by adapting a content-orientated approach. As the foundation of your online presence, your website needs to feature keyword-rich content that has been written with your target audience in mind. Original SEO content will help your business to be searchable online.

3.Social media is offering a lower return on investment year on year
Unless your business is a household name, it can be difficult to gain much traction on social media, and it takes time and effort to be accepted.

To make any sort of impact on social media, you`ll have to be posting multiple times a day, especially when you consider the short lifespan of contents. From just 18 minutes to a couple of hours, your posts won`t hang around for long in the timelines of your followers giving you small window to promote your business.
Social media marketing is growing more competitive and as a result of this, many networks are evolving into paid marketing platforms in an effort to capitalize.

So, by using social media alongside a professional website, SEO, blogging, Email and other marketing tactics that applies to your business, you stand your best chance of succeeding on the web. This way, you`ll have your own personal space on the internet acting as your 24/7 sales and marketing team, and you`ll be able to reach a wide range of people regardless of whether or not they have signed up to a social network. With so many ways to communicate with your potential customers, there’s no need to restrict yourself to just one means of conversion.