Do you have a mentor?
For years I never really had a consistent mentor. I would follow someone here and there but eventually would stop asking questions, stop paying for access, stop reading their articles, or whatever the program was. But I never really had a mentor that I would seriously call one that until now.
There’s a lady that I know, I actually do know her as I was in business along with her, and she has proven to be someone that I have instinctively followed for years.
I remember signing up with her company just because I heard a voice in my head that said “follow her”. This woman has a massive amount of knowledge in running businesses on the Internet, and creating businesses that are multi million dollar businesses. She knows what she’s talking about.
Today I was listening to a live she was giving to her paid folks and she really substantiated something I’ve been saying for years and years and years.
That is your website, regardless of what kind of business you’re in, needs to be the center of all of your marketing and social media.
This conversation came up because of the way Facebook and Instagram are instituting their new shopping accessibility. Which leads me to this question.
Are Free Shopping Portals Right for Your Small Business?
For me that’s an immediate no go because you should be pointing people to your website for a multitude of reasons.
- Those reasons are:
The ability to serve people properly through your website and your customer service skills set.
This is a completely different experience than sending someone directly to your shopping link.
Being able to sign up for emails through your website.
You need this if you ever want to reach your customers outside of the purchasing process, or to get additional follow up sales.
Introducing new products and services that live on your website permanently.
This includes blog articles and long page core content of that service.
No SEO
The SEO, search engine optimization, that lives in your website and your production through your website -none of that is available on Facebook or Instagram.
And most of all, Facebook and Instagram are services that are profitable for them not for you.
It’s a free service that lives on their servers at their pleasure. If you were go against their terms of service for any reason, they will shut you down. You will have no access to customer information or sales ability; your site and your store is simply gone.
But is is Wrong to use them?
I’m sure many of you were thinking that there’s nothing wrong with selling things on a free platform. And you’re right. There is nothing wrong with it, as long as it’s not the only way you’re selling product.
There’s nothing wrong with sharing to the free platforms. Your social media can drive people to your sales process and through your sales process. But the completion of the sale needs to be through your website. That’s where people find out about who you are and can see the rest of your products and services.
No Website is an Issue
I know many people in social media services that have no website. No website to produce a long term following or a long term business reputation. No website to produce email contact. No website to develop an idea or articles that will help grow the reputation and their authority in business.
Your money is in the list.
That saying has been around for years and if you have been on the Internet, you may have heard it. But how did you get a list if you’re strictly selling through a free platform that wants to make money off of you to promote your goods and services?
I’m going to end my rant now simply by saying if you have an entrepreneurial spirit and you are attracted to the fact that you can open up a shop, invest a few bucks and open up a website and then feed it into the other free services. Please do not simply have a store on Facebook or Instagram if you want a long-term business.
I’d be interested to hear your thoughts. Please comment below.
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