Getting your company noticed online is no longer just an option but already a necessity in this day and age. This is why more and more companies are investing their time and money on building optimized websites, and on making themselves visible via social media. There are some businesses though who don’t know whether to go with social media or with an optimized website for their online presence.
Majority of those who understand why being online is very important to the future of their company choose to have both an optimized site and a social media marketing strategy working for them. This is because one can support the other, and vice versa, when it comes to making people find your company and see what you have to offer. There are some companies however who don’t think both are necessary to make people find them, and these are those businesses who choose to focus their energies only one of these two mediums. Which one should you go with if you were only to utilize one for your online presence?
If you want your site to get maximum exposure, using both avenues is recommended. If you were to choose only one to focus on, you need to first determine what your goals are. You also need to figure out what your budget is for your online requirements. These can help set you down the right path for your online needs, and will help you determine what you should focus on.
If you are aiming for brand awareness, then social media marketing may be your best bet. This allows you to showcase your brand, promote new products, and interact with your audience. Interaction is the key to developing a relationship with your target market, and the use of social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter helps you do that. This will help project a positive image for your brand and will make people trust you because of your interaction with them and what you present to them on your social media pages.
If you are targeting people who are actually looking for what you can offer and who are ready to purchase your products or avail of your services, then SEO and search engine marketing (SEM) is what you should focus on. Since people who need what you have usually go to search engines to initiate a search for something they need, having an optimized site that shows up for keywords that are associated with your company and/or products is more beneficial to you. Having ads that are on search engines as well (like Adwords for Google) will also work well for such goals.
If you are working with a minimal budget, you may want to focus your efforts on social media since these usually don’t require too much money to begin with – unless of course if you are planning on going for sponsored posts and ads on these platforms. If you have a rather sizeable budget however, going for both is ideal.
In the end, deciding on one for your online needs is a matter of purpose and budget. Using both is still recommended for optimal results and for maximum exposure.
