While you're still mulling the answer to the question, "does my business need a website?" some people are already asking the opposite, "do you even need a website anymore?"
With social media platforms becoming more and more sophisticated, forging digital relationships with current and potential clients is now easier than ever. No wonder over 40 million Facebook small business pages are active. This is according to Ad Week.
So why bother creating a website when you can create relationships via Facebook? In lieu of a website, why not just establish your online presence using a Facebook page?
Well, you can, but there are things you can do with a website that you can't in a Facebook page.
So in this post, I compare the pros and cons of having a website vs Facebook page.
Advantages of a Website
You're in control because you own your digital real estate
Think of it this way:
Having a website is like owning a house and lot. You have the freedom to choose the address and the option to sell it when you want to.
As the owner, you have 100% control of your website. Meaning you can do anything with it. Choose your colors, fonts, and layouts. You can pick the personality, words, and look. You have full control when optimizing it for search engines.
With this freedom, you have complete control over the brand experience. When done right, you can use your website to project the vision, values and services of your business. As it serves as a treasure trove of valuable information for your visitors, it also serves to convey your uniques selling proposition (USP).
You cannot do these on your Facebook page. Having a Facebook page is like renting a condo. There are rules you need to follow. There are words you cannot use and opinions you cannot express. But they're doing this for a reason.
While you can edit your Facebook page cover and other images, add posts, information about your business and product or service, at the end of the day, it will still look like... yes, you're right... Facebook. This makes it hard for you to convey what sets you apart from the competition.
With your own website, you can be yourself because you're "at home". In Facebook, you have to follow rules, their terms of service because you're just a "tenant". And mind you, Facebook's algorithm is constantly changing. Whether you like it or not, you have to comply with the terms and conditions of third-party sites if you are dependent on them for you online presence.
Another significant advantage of owning a digital real estate is that it means you own a digital asset. Being the owner of such asset, you can sell it if you want to. If built well, a website can sell for millions of pesos (even in dollars!). The most expensive website, VacationRentals.com, sold for $35 millions in 2007!
The spotlight is on you
I was in pharmaceutical sales a decade back. And so my analogy for this point is when a medical representative presents her products to doctors in two settings.
With a Facebook page, you're like a med rep detailing your product in a "market coverage". The setting here is usually a relatively small room or space packed with sleep-deprived resident doctors and pharmaceutical sales reps enthusiastically articulating their sales pitches in 10 seconds. And while the doctor you've presented to may still be digesting your pitch, another sales rep presents to her seconds later.
Imagine the distraction. How much information can these doctors retain in this kind of set up? Oftentimes while in the process, some of them would be called over via the P.A. system for some emergency or to answer the phone.
This distraction can be likened to the distractions in Facebook. When scrolling Facebook, a potential visitor's attention would be divided. With so much going on in Facebook, newsfeed stories, chats, messages, marketplace, notifications, eye-catching ads and videos, etc.
According to Facebook, the average newsfeed shows 1,500 stories. In 2016, the total number of page likes of a typical Facebook user increased by 50%. The more pages a Facebook user likes, especially when they have more friends, the more competition businesses face in vying for their attention.
No wonder the average number of engagements with Facebook posts of brands dwindled by over 20% from January to June of 2017. This is according to BuzzSumo. This means that there is now more content being produced than there is time to digest it.
In contrast, with your own website, you're like a med rep who found a way to visit a doctor in his office to talk about the doctor's interests, the latest news, and, of course, the med rep's products. You have their undivided attention even for just a few minutes or seconds.
Yes, there are distractions still. The secretary's head may pop in announcing the arrival of a more important visitor. The phone may ring or an emergency may call the doctor's attention. But these are not as distracting as the frenzy that occurs in a mass coverage.
Just like when a current or potential customer lands your page, the focus is on you. There may still be distractions if his Facebook is open too in another window or tab. But at least it's in another window or tab. Unlike in Facebook where there's a whole menu of distractions all on the same tab.
There's the challenge of finding a way to get your foot inside the doctor's door. Just like there's the challenge of driving traffic to your website. But with a sound organic search strategy, you can overcome this hurdle. Inbound marketing may be a Herculean task to draw visitors to your site at the beginning, but with consistent work, the competition will diminish over time. In contrast, competition in Facebook is more likely to increase.
You own the leads
With a website, you can create create lead magnets that can lure your site visitors to sign up and share their email addresses. You can use these for your email marketing strategy to make sure you're constantly in contact with them and are acknowledged on their inboxes. With these email addresses, the power to deliver the right marketing message at the right time is in your hands.
Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the value of a Facebook page in digital marketing. It is great for winning over new prospects. However, you cannot execute the entire sales cycle if you solely rely on it. There is no assurance that your post will always be in their Facebook newsfeeds.
Website-Facebook Face-off
A Summary
Website
Conclusion:
In conclusion, having both a Facebook page and a website for your business is important for digital marketing. The level of brand control and leads-nurturing that a website affords cannot be replaced with just a Facebook page. Although a few exceptions, such as restaurants, bars and other particular consumer-based businesses, may do well with just a Facebook page.
A website is essential especially for B2Bs and for businesses with target buyers that take time to research before making a buying decision. Using valuable content on your website, you can strategically guide them in coming to their purchase decision via sales funnels. Let's discuss the exciting world of sales funnels in the coming post(s).