Professionalism, Social Media and the Internet: Why Bother?
Sometimes we all take shortcuts. We make it easier for ourselves by deliberately missing a step when following instructions, or doing something simpler that may or may not work in order to save time, effort or cost.
It’s perfectly natural to do this, but it doesn’t always help; procrastination and idleness has put me in several tight spots, as it has many others, that I never would have been in if I actually tried initially.
So, what am I on about? Well, professionalism. You want to make it in the big, scary world? You gotta work and work well and with integrity. It’s disheartening how many times I’ve had to remind myself about this after messing something up.
Being professional is different to how it was only twenty-five years ago. Marketing a brand or personality now requires a presence on the internet if it is going to get anything other than localised attention. That means websites and, much to many people’s dismay, Social Media.
Social Media, as many people believe, is, in fact, for idiots. But it can do wonders for a professional image if used correctly. With such large user bases, it would be stupid for an advertiser to ignore Social Media and the ease of which pages can be shared though it.
However, in some cases, it’s better to have your own website.
A brand having its own site allows for its own sense of style rather than being restricted to the layout provided to you by the different Social Media sites. As a result, a website makes the brand more distinct and memorable than just a page on Facebook or Twitter. A well made website will create a professional image for any visitors, and therefore make them more interested in the product or service provided. In summary, websites make it easier for someone to sell themselves or their product.
Social Media allows you post with frequency and anyone in the site’s user-base has the ability to see it. The problem is, however, that it is all too easy to scroll past any given post unless it’s designed in such a way that it grabs your attention. A website helps circumvent this problem; if someone is on a company or brand’s website, they are most likely already somewhat interested in what said brand has to offer (unlike a post that happens to appear in someones feed after a friend or relative shared it).There is also the option of having people sign up to your website’s data base and thus allowing them to be emailed directly whenever something of note occurs, such as a sale or the release of a new product. Websites allow you to communicate with customers.
One final thing a website has over Social Media is that having your own website means there is no risk of being purged from the site with no warning, something that has been dubbed being ‘Zuckerberged’ after Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg. This usually occurs over an individual’s political views, but what is to stop it happening to a company?
To wrap up, should somebody starting a business or trying to provide goods and services rely solely on a website or on Social Media? Well, it would be best to have the benefits of both, but with the emphasis being on the website and the brand recognition and professional image that it would generate.
