Hey, Facebook is free and seen by millions…so why not just have a Facebook Business page for free instead of paying for a website? Well, believe it or not, there are plenty of reasons. Here are our top 5.
- You don’t own your Facebook page, Facebook does. Therefore, your business is counting on Facebook for everything…Search Engine Optimization, Ranking, Improvements, etc. And, if there is a problem, good luck talking to someone on the phone. And…since Facebook owns your page that means that Facebook also owns the domain name your Business Page resides on. If you ever decide to move from Facebook…let’s say it’s a fad, and all fads eventually go away..there goes all of your company’s history on Facebook.
- Facebook has almost 1.5 billion monthly users. That’s a lot! But does that mean millions of people are seeing your page and your updates? You can pay Facebook to show your page to other Facebook members, and that’s nice. Otherwise, you are stuck with those that ‘like’ your page and hopefully ‘share’ your page with their friends.
- While Facebook allows customization of your page header, your store sections, and of course, the content you share, that’s the limit of the branding and personalization you can do on your business page. Your business branding is subordinate to the blue Facebook brand, and your content, including offers, promotions, and updates, must stay within the guidelines established by Facebook. Any content you post on Facebook can be used by Facebook for their own purposes (until you delete it from Facebook), so you lose the appeal of exclusive, unique content.
- Facebook’s Analytics are subpar compared to Google’s Analytics. Although Facebook does have some awesome analytics, they are nowhere near as awesome as what Google offers.Google Analytics, as well as other major statistics packages, offers amazing insights into how users are interacting with your website. Web Analytics will show you how a sale was made, what path a visitor took through your site, bounce rates, number of visitors at a specific time of day, and so much more. Facebook’s analytics cannot tell you all of this, leaving you with much less information than that of your competitors who have websites.
- Facebook limits your ability to share information. While you can add a nice description and post daily updates, you cannot create pages and pages of content about your company history, services, and examples of work, like you can on a website. Your website gives you the flexibility to structure how information is displayed. With a website you can dig down into second level navigation, third level, and even further, displaying endless amounts of content. You can also integrate a blog within your website, whereas with a Facebook page you would have to link off to it. And the more steps a person has to take, the less likely they are to take them.
In summary, having a Facebook page is great idea. In fact, we encourage our clients to have a Facebook page to promote their website. But, a Facebook page could never take the place of the benefits of having your own website on your own domain (URL), due to it’s limitations. So your Facebook Business Page is not enough.
As always, if you need help with a new website or updating your old website, we are here to help. Contact us, you’ll be glad you did! Masterpiece Web Designs