Should You Invest in a Carpet Cleaning Website or Use Social Media Alone?
Marketing a carpet cleaning business can be overwhelming, especially with the rise of advanced social media platforms. You might wonder: is a website still necessary, or can social media alone do the job? In order to answer this question, we've listed the benefits of both styles of promotion.
Benefits of social media
Free
A big draw of social media is that it is free to use, with the exception of paid advertising. You can create accounts across a variety of platforms without spending a penny.
Content delivered directly
Social media delivers your content and images directly to potential customers using their algorithms. Through news feeds and suggested content, your posts will find their way to people that the platform believes will want to see them.
Messaging
Most social media platforms have a messaging feature that allows potential customers to contact you directly with questions. This is a very easy way for customers to find out information.
Insights
Not only do social media platforms give you statistics about interactions with your posts and page, but these insights often contain demographic information about these accounts. This allows you to analyse who is seeing your posts, and potentially tailor your content for these groups or change it for those who it is not reaching.
Benefits of a website
Customisable
Social media platforms require you to operate within their given format. This limits the extent to which you can prioritise information and apply branding. When you build a website from scratch, you are in control of every aspect.
Integrated payment service
While some social media platforms have their own marketplaces, these are optimised for items rather than services. Having your own website allows you to create a portal for customers to pay you, making the process simpler for both sides.
Easy navigation
Searching a social media feed for specific information can be difficult. Creating your own website allows you to direct customers to significant information such as services, reviews and contact details using menus and pages.
Visibility
Some social media platforms require visitors to have an account to see content. A website is easily viewable by a wider range of people and is more likely to appear in search engine results. It is also helpful to have a website address to direct potential customers to, rather than giving them a long list of social media profiles to choose from.
Credibility
Social media is generally quite an informal environment. A well-made website demonstrates professionalism and makes your business seem more trustworthy.
Should you invest in a website?
While social media is a valuable marketing tool, a website brings benefits to your business that social media cannot provide. Whichever option you go for, just remember to keep it regularly updated. An up-to-date website and active social media page are far more likely to get seen than those that haven’t been updated in months or years.
Join the NCCA
Members of the National Carpet Cleaners Association can access exclusive advice and training on a range of key subjects, including marketing. After passing our checks, members can display our badge of accreditation on their websites and appear in our directory.
