Should that be a status update or blog post?

WAIT! Before you hit send on that status update, I encourage you to carefully consider if it should be a blog post.

*brace yourselves for some tough love*

Yeah I know, you hate writing f*cking blog posts.Well – tough shit. “It takes too long.” “It’s not my job!” “What’s the point?” Look, if you’re not willing to do what needs to be done to create content that can help increase awareness about your business and traffic to your website, then at the very least allow others on your team that are ready and willing to make it so – so. Don’t waste a great opportunity.

Why? Well there are a whole bunch of reasons but I’m going to keep this simple.

Regardless of what social media sites your brand uses, your website is yours. It’s where you shine online. You OWN it. (well, at least I hope you do!)

Let’s get down to it shall we?

Facebook can shut your page down without notice. Twitter can lock you out. Instagram can shut you down. Nearly every social media site you currently use can be shutdown or hacked without much of anything that you can do about it. How do you help protect yourself against losing all of your hard work, updates and photos? Well, you can start by focusing on making your website work for you.

Your website? Your website is where your customers can discover more about you, purchase or secure your services, contact you with with questions or support needs. It’s a place that you can use to post interesting news, photos, upcoming events and yes, even showcase what you have to offer. It’s where you can bring together different elements of your story, including photos (don’t forget to tag everyone in it and share a description!), video and news and then make it easy for your community to find and share that information.

You see, your website should be more than an online brochure.

Your website should be a place that you and your team highlight what makes your business unique. Share your enthusiasm. You can do that by sharing compelling content on why you and your customers care. You can celebrate community achievements and challenges. Your website is a place to share photographs and the amazing stories that they offer to your community. You can do all of this and regardless of how the social media sites you use changes. . . you will always have the repository of excitement and information on your website – ready to share as new social sharing sites emerge.

I think it’s important to remember too that your customer base is varied in how they find and engage with your brand. Just because you post something on Twitter or Facebook doesn’t mean that your customer base, the one that helps you keep the doors open, will actually see it. Carefully consider how each social network is as unique as your client base and never forget that you need to create and share content with that in mind.

A few parting tips? Don’t miss out on an opportunity to create evergreen content on your website. Don’t miss out on an opportunity to create your own story and one that your community can read and share regardless of what social network they use (if any). Don’t miss an opportunity to drive traffic back to your website – with or without social media.

All of these tips are important to consider as you decide whether or not that status update would better serve you and your brand as a blog post.

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