Social media is a very important method of marketing, selling and branding for many businesses. It does work and it is a communication medium that should not be ignored. However, many businesses are caught up in the euphoria of social media and neglecting two of the most important marketing vehicles of their business: their website and email marketing.

Yes, we hear many anecdotal stories of businesses using Twitter to drive sales and boost communication for their company’s products or services. However, for most growing businesses that have a limited budget, focusing on a well designed website and email marketing are essential elements they should still focus on, before diving too deep into social media.

Why is that the case?

1. Search engines, which are still the most popular way by far to find information online, use website and blog traffic to determine your ranking.

2. Email, for many, is still the most popular and easiest method of communication (hence the power of email marketing).

3. Your well designed website can serve as a foundation for your social media and any other online marketing.

4. Websites provide the broadest and most flexible opportunity for serving the variety of needs to your customers (hosting video, offering free downloads, forms for receiving customer information, etc).

5. Email marketing enables you to see critical statistics about your audience and email message (how many opens, who opened, what was clicked on, etc).

6. Email messages can be highly targetedto specific groups within your email database and the individual message can be customized for each recipient.

7. Websites are owned by you—no needto worry about change in privacy settings, or who owns your data.

8. Your website can serve as a powerful and automated salestool, that works 24/7/365.

9. Your website and email marketing contains only your message and not extraneous advertising or content from dozens of others on each page.

10. Competitors are not able to display their advertising around your messaging.

11. If third party social media networks go down, you’re not “out of business” while they are down.

12. Your customer’s data has less of a chance of being hacked.

13. People often want to receive regular email messages just to remind them to buy from you later on.

14. Website domain names are easier to market and for people to go to than Twitter handles.

15. Until social commerce matures, websites are the best wayto sell online.

16. Great subject lines in email messages are still a very powerful way for recipients to prioritise what emails they open.

17. Websites can be as simple or as complex as needed.

18. You can create multiple websites for multiple audiences.

19. Websites don’t have a barrier of needing to enter a password and user nameto visit them.

20. All of your audience can navigate a good website—everyone still can’t effectively navigate Twitter and Facebook.

21. A great website can be created with no need for programming “apps” or special developers.

22. Some companies block social media sites.

23. Your photos and video can be placed precisely where and how you want them on your website.

24. “Social is great”, but building a direct relationship between you and a customer (without 267 of their friends) might be more important.

25. A well designed website is like opening the door and sitting in a brand new car with leather seats.

26. An email marketing message lives forever, social media posts move along a time line and require regular attention.

27. Your website and email newsletter will never compete with you.

28. If your sales message requires lengthy copy, your website can tastefully accommodate.

29. Email marketing messages can automatically engage a customer, depending on their response to a preceding email message.

30. Websites can change as little or as much as you like. Whenever you like.