Social media platforms have become an integral part of running - and marketing - our businesses. They’re a great way to grow your brand, develop your reputation, find new audiences, and even sell your products or services.

But, at the end of the day - social media is a rented space.

Unfortunately, too many business owners forget this and become too dependent on one (or more) social media channels for marketing and growing their business.

Let’s take a look at why social media is a rented space, and what you can do to diversify your marketing.

You Don’t Own the Platform

Imagine Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and even Twitter as apartment blocks standing side-by-side along the glittering strip of Surfers Paradise.

You can rent them out short-term or long-term. You can chop and change between them. But you can’t hang your artwork on the wall, or knock down any walls to make the space bigger.

You don’t own them. You’re just renting the space.

Those apartment blocks can go up for sale at any moment, or they can change their lease terms on you. They can do whatever they want with them because they are the owners of the space.

On the other hand - your website…. now, that is like owning your own house. You can do whatever you want with it. Yes, you still pay the bank (or in this case, your website host) your monthly mortgage to own the building, but it’s yours and you can renovate it, decorate it, knock it down and start again, or just lovingly live in it for the rest of your life.

In the world of marketing, we call this owned media and earned media, which you can read more about here.

So what does this all mean for your business? Should you ditch social media and just focus on your website?

Should You Break Your Lease with Social Media?

No, definitely not. Especially if it’s helping you grow your business. There is nothing wrong with renting your marketing space. Way back in the day, as a broke 20-something, renting was absolutely the perfect thing for me at the time. There was no way I could afford to be a homeowner. And likewise, social media platforms have a place in the lifespan of your business.

Renting a social media platform is usually a very cost-effective way to grow your business, your brand, and your reputation. It’s a great tool to use!

Having said that, I think you should use it as just that - a tool. Not as your main source of growth and lead generation. If any of those social media platforms decide to break your lease - whether they go under, you violate their T&Cs, or just because - you’ll want to minimise the impact that this will have on your business.

Imagine if you only ran your business from a Facebook page, and then suddenly Facebook started charging businesses $2,000 a month “rent” and you can no longer afford to lease the space. Then what do you do? Will you have to start your business from scratch elsewhere?

What can you do instead?

I wouldn’t recommend waiting for the above scenario (or a version thereof) to happen before you decide to do something about it. That’s point number one.

I recommend diversifying your marketing strategy and platforms as much as possible so that you aren’t just relying on one channel or source.

✨ Don’t have a website yet? Build one!

✨ Don’t have an email database? Create a free resource and start building your mailing list. [FYI MailerLite has a fab free version that is perfect for most small businesses, myself included].

✨ Focus on creating your own content [like a blog] and optimising your website for search.

✨ Add a referral program to your business to encourage word-of-mouth lead generation.

✨ Ask for reviews and testimonials to build up trust and credibility.

✨ Perfect your customer journey and experience so that your customers become your marketing advocates.

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I definitely think that social media has its place in the marketing cycle of a business. In fact, you probably found this blog post through my social media channels. It’s only a problem when it becomes your only marketing focus, not when its just one part of the bigger floorplan. And when time, money and resources are limited - as they tend to be in small businesses - my recommendation is always to first focus on the areas where you have the most control, and that’s your owned media. Your website. Your blog. Your email list.

Not sure how to diversify your marketing plan? Let’s chat! I offer 1:1 Digital Strategy sessions which are a low-risk way to figure out key parts of your online strategy before going all in and throwing a bunch of money and time at a platform, service or tactic that may not be right for you. Together, we’ll zero in on the issues that are keeping you stuck, and shine a light on your path forward.

Want to know more? Get in touch today or click on the button below!