What a great question that is! Often I hear people say that they’re not sure if they really need a website because they already have a Facebook page. While Facebook will help you establish an online presence, it may not do the best job at establishing your brand. Here are some things to think about when asking yourself this question.
Facebook:
- Pros:
- Great for interacting with your customers and gaining “fans.”
- Viral – someone likes you – they let all their friends know.
- Current info goes out to your customers instead of them having to come to you. (If you’re not “hidden”)
- Pretty easy to set-up an account.
- Easy way to offer regular specials.
- Easy upload of photos, videos, etc.
- Easy to shoot out messages that appear on your fans’ newsfeed.
- Cons:
- May cause some confusion when separating your personal Facebook page with your business Facebook page. Do you really want your customers seeing your beach vacation photos?
- Viral – someone doesn’t like you – they let all their friends know.
- Other than adding a picture of your logo or learning FBML (FBML is Facebook’s own little coding language. I haven’t even jumped into that yet!), there’s no way to change the design of your page. Even the colors are all the same for everyone – blah blue.
- You don’t know if your messages are appearing on your fans’ newsfeed, because they may have “liked” you to get that coupon, but not enough to keep from “hiding” you in their feed. (Guilty
)
- Not necessarily cons – but other things to keep in mind:
- You need to be sensitive to your fans and use proper Facebook etiquette. Keep your messages short, professional and reasonably spaced apart – one to two posts per week.
- You may need to spend time monitoring the comments on your site.
- You need to be checking it daily and interacting!!!
Website:
- Pros:
- You are not limited to custom design of your site.
- Each page can have specific information relating to your business or product.
- Your brand is all over it! (Keeping the rule of “Less-is-More,” of course).
- More opportunity to be found by search engines.
- There are many website options now that make it super-easy to update your content, add images, videos and more.
- Extra features like shopping carts, forums, blogs can all be found in one place.
- Cons (sort of):
- Cost. If you think you have to spend thousands on a professional website, you’re wrong! With Small Business Design Solutions, we only charge $500 for a 5-page website. We keep it simple, attractive, professional and functional. And, people say we’re fun to work with too!
- Not knowing how to get started. It can be a very overwhelming process to get started with your website. We help keep things in focus by gaining a full understanding of your needs, having questionnaires available to help you think about what you need and delivering a product that fully meets your needs. We will “hold your hand” through the process.
- Takes time. All GOOD things do take some time – and it’s worth it in the end. We can usually design a site and have it online in about three weeks. You can always set-up a Facebook page to let people know your awesome new website is coming soon and they won’t want to miss it!
My final answer…
Yes – you should have a website and a Facebook page! Facebook is a great compliment to your website, but should not replace it. A well designed and easy to navigate website will give you a competitive edge, keep your image professional and help build credibility. Are you ready to get started? We can help!
Advertisement
