There is no denying that Facebook is a great social media site for businesses looking to expand their digital marketing strategies. However, Facebook should not be your home base. Facebook should support your website, helping to drive customers and leads to a unique, highly functional location, where you have all the control.
Your Website is the Hub of Your Online Presence.
Think of your website as your main office. You want to drive traffic to your website to learn and interact with your business. Your social media platforms and email campaigns are little satellite offices or even space within someone else’s business. The social media platforms are the feelers out directing customers back to your website, the main hub.
Can a Facebook Page Replace a Website?
No, but they can and do work together as an online marketing tool to help increase your customer reach. Businesses should choose one to three platforms so they aren’t spreading themselves too thinly on social media. Develop a routine to ensure that you’re monitoring these sites daily to keep your online audience engaged. By establishing why you are using social media, recognising your audience’s needs, and knowing the right places to appear, you should be able to improve your presence and drive a sales strategy through social media.
6 Reasons Your Business Needs a Website
- You have better control of how you appear in search results.
- More control over tracking your results.
- You need somewhere to link paid ads.
- Not everyone is a Facebook user.
- Show off your style.
- Your website is considered more credible
1. YOU LOSE CONTROL ON FACEBOOK.
The number one reason was actually spotlighted within the last two weeks when Facebook posted a statement regarding their future plans. In the upcoming months, they will focus on their original mission which was bringing people closer together. It seems that most users have spoken, and they don’t enjoy seeing page posts and advertisements over their friend’s and families updates on their timelines. What does this mean for your Facebook page? Well, likely the small percentage of your followers that are still seeing your Facebook page posts, won’t be seeing it at all in the future.
2. WHAT RESULTS?
A big, ongoing issue that we have with Facebook is the stats and results that they provide. These results can be tricky, making it harder to show lead generation results that you may be getting from your Facebook business page. With a website, you have so much more access to your data and results.
3. YOU NEED A DESTINATION FOR GOOGLE ADS
Even if you don’t think you will need to run pay per click ads, we tell our clients to always be prepared and set-up to successfully run paid ads. You might change your mind, and then you have what you need to turn them on quickly. You can technically link Google Ads to a Facebook page, but it’s definitely discouraged for many reasons, such as :
- Historically lower ad quality scores for Facebook landing pages, which can increase your cost per click.
- Google often limits how many ads for a top-level domain (such as Facebook) will show in the results. If you have a few competitors aiming for the same phrases, your ad could be left out.
- Facebook trademark violations are possible.
- You can’t use Google Ads conversion tracking to see the results of you Google Ads investment.
- You must be logged into Facebook to see the content of most Facebook pages.
4. BARRIER TO ENTRY
Not everyone has a Facebook account. Especially since the younger generations are decreasingly using Facebook. In September 2018, it was estimated that 44% of young millennials (aged 18-29) have unfriended Facebook, and studies have shown that Gen Z will probably kill Facebook.
I have a friends who refuse to use the social media platform at all, and this is pretty common for the 18-24 year age range. But, it’s not only the younger crowd… 59% of the 65 and older age group are present on Facebook. This means that if someone has to sign in to a platform that they aren’t familiar with or don’t have a log-in for you’ve instantly lost them.
5. SHOW OFF YOUR STYLE
Gone are the days of customising your MySpace page, and honestly, we don’t know about you but we don’t want to go back there. So since you can no longer customise social media platforms complete with Mariah Carey’s “We Belong Together” playing in the background, it’s better to have your own website that shows off your style and your product. Whether you are a serious accounting firm, a creative sign shop, or a homey coffee shop, with your own website you are able to give visitors a sense of your business before they even step through the doors of your physical location or receive your product.
6. CREDIBILITY
For years, studies have shown that a good website instantly adds perceived value or credibility to products and services. I know I want to be able to go to a website, find what I’m looking for, learn about the company, and see what they are all about.
A Major Purchase Shopper Study by GE Capital Retail Bank revealed that 81% of shoppers do online research before making a purchase, with 60% going directly to the retailer’s website to check out various product details; such as warranty, pricing, availability, and shipping information. A standard Facebook page that looks like everyone else’s Facebook page doesn’t give anyone a good idea of what your company is about, or make it easy to find information that I might be searching for before purchasing your product or service.
Lastly – Of course we are always here to assist if you need us so lodge a support request here if we can help in any way.
Until the next time
