I see a lot of local businesses constantly posting on social media every week with the exact same message.
You know the type.
- “We are open today!”
- “Look at this new product!”
- “Look at the job we did last week!”
- “Call us for a quote!”
That’s Relying on Luck, Not Strategy.
There’s rarely a website to go to. There’s no link. It is just a Facebook post, or it is just a LinkedIn post, or an Instagram picture. And where does it link to (if at all)? A profile that could have been set-up yesterday, with a Gmail, Hotmail or Yahoo email address and a mobile phone number.
That is the equivalent of pulling over at a service station and printing yourself some business cards from a vending machine on the way to your very first meeting. It looks cheap, it looks unprofessional and there is bugger all to back up what your post says.
I’m gonna be blunt with you: it is basically bloody pointless. And it assumes your potential customer is too stupid to think,
“Hang on a second. You call yourself a business, but you use a Gmail address, and you don’t even have a website.”
When you run your business entirely on social media, you’re shouting into a room that’s constantly moving. You have to keep posting, hoping and praying that one of your posts might actually reach somebody who, right at that very moment, is interested in what you are saying.
The odds of that happening are extremely unlikely.
The “Needle in a Haystack” Reality
Think about how you use social media. You scroll when you are bored. You scroll when you are waiting for the kettle to boil. You aren’t usually looking to buy a new boiler or hire an accountant while you are looking at pictures of your friend’s holiday.
For your post to work, three things have to happen instantly and simultaneously:
- The algorithm has to actually show your post (which it rarely does anymore).
- Your potential customer has to be online at that exact moment.
- That customer has to have an immediate, burning need for your service right then and there.
It is like searching for a needle in a haystack if you’re hoping your post will find exactly the right person at exactly the right time.
Stop Renting. Start Owning.
The alternative is simple, but so many businesses ignore it because it takes a bit of effort.
You need a website. And not just a digital brochure, but a website full of helpful content.
When someone actually needs your service, they don’t scroll Facebook hoping you posted five minutes ago.
They go to Google.
They ask AI.
Potential customers search with intent.
If you have a website with the right content, you’re there waiting for them. You aren’t jumping up and down waving your arms in an algorithm influenced newsfeed. You’re standing there like a lighthouse with the solution to their problem.
Are You Ready to Stop Wasting Time?
If you are tired of feeding the social media hamster wheel with content that disappears in 24 hours, it is time to rethink your strategy.
It’s time to GET CUSTOMERS instead of likes.
