Renting vs. Owning Your Online Presence
If you’ve ever looked at the economics of home ownership, you’ve probably weighed the costs and benefits of renting vs. owning your home. But have you ever considered this same logic when it comes to your online presence? Much like purchasing a home, investing your marketing dollars can be a risk and you want to make sure you are spending them in the right places. Let’s walk through what renting vs. owning your online presence looks like, and how you can tailor your goals for success.
What does it mean to rent your online presence?
Much like when you first moved out of your parents home and rented a small apartment in a large condo building, social media offers you places to rent an online presence. Think of Instagram, Facebook, Youtube, Pinterest, and Tik Tok as large condo buildings with free units available. Utilizing these platforms is an amazing way to market your business, but it’s important to remember you do not own your place on these platforms. You are subject to any changes the app may make (much like this month with the Instagram changes coming), and if the app were to go away tomorrow so would all of your posts, followers, and hard work.
What does it mean to own your online presence?
The things you own when it comes to your online presence are the things that can’t be taken away from you. Your branding, photos, and any assets your business has purchased rights to would be included in this. No matter where you are online you can use these things to market your business. The most common “places” to own online are your website & your email list. I often say to clients the foundation of your online presence should be your website. This is the space where you determine the user’s experience completely & showcase your business how you want to be seen. Just like a home, your website has an upfront investment cost, but will likely outlast any of your other online investments. Your email list is also incredibly valuable because this is a list of potential customers and supporters that you can take with you to different email marketing platforms. Unlike followers, these individuals are not tied to the particular platform you are using.
Should you rent or buy your online presence?
Now that we’ve outlined the difference between renting vs. owning your online presence, the natural question is which is better? The answer, of course, is both. There are inherent values to both forms of marketing and both can be crucial for your overall success. While I’ve outlined the benefits of your website & email list, it’s key to remember much like your home, individuals need to be invited there! I recommend utilizing the rented platforms to direct traffic to the places you own. Use your Instagram to direct individuals to your website or to subscribe to your email list.
When thinking about investments, treat your owned platforms like the foundation. No matter how beautiful a party invitation is, guests will determine how much fun they had by the actual experience they had when they got there. In other words, no matter how great your Instagram posts are telling followers to head to your website, if it’s a mess one they get there, you’ll likely lose the sale. Once you have a user friendly and marketable foundation, spend your marketing dollars on directing traffic from those rented platforms!
Written by: Brynn Featherstone of Billie Design Co
Brynn Featherstone is a Brand Strategist & Website Designer at Billie Design Co, a Brand Studio dedicated to helping small businesses find their identity and grow online.