Using Your Facebook Page As Your Website

by Stewart Savage | Oct 17, 2012 | Marketing, Social Media, Website Design

Really??? You’re using your Facebook page as your website? Do you think that is a good business decision?

As a website designer in Davis, CA, I frequently see small businesses making the mistake of using a Facebook page as their primary marketing channel. A business owner will forego building in a website and try to save a few dollars.

Losing Money

But are these business owners really saving? Are there other coast associated using a Facebook page as your website? Here are some places where you could be losing money and customers.

When it comes to brand management, a Facebook page comes nowhere near the brand management abilities of a custom website. Sure it is a great place to engage customers and get feedback. But Facebook is limited when it comes design and control.

Design

When using Facebook as your business website, you must design your Internet presence within the framework it offers. You want to change the layout? You want a different color scheme? You want extra pages which offer a complete look at your products and services? Sorry, no can do. What you see is what you get.

In Control

Facebook certainly has a lot of features, but are you in control of your environment? If you look at what Facebook has to offer, you can easily see that you are a guest and you are not in total control. Here are a few things to look at.

First, take a look at the right sidebar. Are those ads yours? Do you have a say as to what ads appear there? There is nothing preventing a competitor from appearing on your Facebook page pulling customers away from your content, your message, and your conversation.

You have a few thousand likes. Can you contact them directly? Facebook limits your ability to directly message your fans and establish a conversation. Sure you can post an item on your page and your fans may, or may not, see it. Starting a conversation directly with one of your fans is not in the picture.

Facebook is a free service. What happens you all of your “customers” if Facebook begins to charge for the service? Do they stay, or do they go? My guess the novelty will wear off rather quickly if people start having to pay to use the service.

Own Your Content

The best way to control your message, brand, and Internet environment is to own your content. The best way to do that is to own your website, domain name, and all the resources you have available to your customers.

Seriously consider the value of designing, building, and communicating a website that resides at the center of your Internet marketing strategy.