The past year or so, I’ve come across more businesses who have only a Company Facebook page versus having their own website.  This made me curious, so I started researching trends with benefits and limitations.  This post is designed to help you weigh the pros and cons of using your Facebook page as your main web presence vs. having your own URL and website. I will mention that my personal recommendation is to have both.  I’ll explain why as we go through this.

Pros of a Business Facebook Page:

• Easy to create.
• Inexpensive.
• Built-in traffic potential.
• Mobile friendly.
• Word of mouth sharing potential.

Limitations of your Business Facebook Page:

• Lack of control to differentiate your brand from competitors
• Lack of control with content you post–must stay within the guidelines established by Facebook
• Any content you post can be used by Facebook.
• Difficult to promote you business outside of Facebook. Most people on mobile use the Facebook app, and if you try and link at ad from a platform outside of Facebook, it asks for you to login. I don’t know many people who will go to that trouble just to follow an ad.
• You don’t ‘own’ the leads you gather. No way to connect with them outside of the platform.
• Only 68% of all adults use Facebook in the U.S. (only 58% in rural areas).
• Engagement with posts have fallen off 20% since January 2017. ‘Free posts’ aren’t reaching the same amount of people as they used to.

Pros of having your own Website:

• Legitimizes your business.
• You have Full Control of your brand look and messaging.
• Once a potential customer is at your website, you have their full attention.  Less chance of a ‘facebook page scroll by…’
• You ‘own’ the leads that come through your website.
• You can create 1-on-1 email conversations with customers who fill out a form on your website.
• You can promote your business through multiple channels–finding and engaging with potential customers wherever they may be.

Ideally, it’s best to have a website plus engage with an active social media strategy for your business. If you’d like help crafting a website that will convert visitors into customers and/or help with your social media strategy, we’d love to help!  Drop us a line…

*2018 study on PewInternet.org

*2019 article on SproutSocial.com

*2018 article on Lean-Labs.come

* Ondeck.com