No doubt there are many people using Facebook – as of October 2011 Facebook reported 800 million users with over 50% logging in daily.
With Facebook having a Business Page is an excellent idea – it gives a method to update fans and those who have “Liked” your page quick updates. Also if your Facebook fans comment or share your postings – this gets multiplied out to their friends.
However a business does require one central location to have their basic product and service information. This might be your product catalog for a business, menus for a restaurant, and services offered by a consultant. These should be readily available to anyone who is searching on the Internet by using search optimized web pages. In addition on a regular basis in Facebook you should have your POSTS link back to your website for more information. This helps to build your website traffic and integrate your Facebook page activity with your website.
Pros and Cons
| Comparison | Facebook Business Page | Website |
| Pros |
Lots of people using it Easy to make postings Can link back to your website Can setup individual pages – but people don’t often browse the additional tabs Easy to setup |
Can create a branded professional look Can create organized and easy to use navigation More control on layout and how the message is presented Can integrate your FaceBook page |
| Cons |
Need to build up your fan base Information on your wall shows most recent posts – but people may not scroll down to see previous posts No obvious hierarchy and way to organize your information Need to post regularly |
May require technical expertise to update your information (depends on type of website) May have to pay for hosting and domain name May take time to build the website Need to check that pages are found on search engines |
Conclusion
There are advantages to having a Facebook Business Page – but to really benefit from having a presence on the Internet a business should still have a well designed website.
Excellent article, however, one very important point is left out which is that only Facebook members can find your business page on Facebook. Even though Facebook claims to have more than 800 million members, that’s still not everyone in the world.
Also, you can include more features on a website than you can on a Facebook page. You can include order forms, customer feedback forms, interactive customer chat areas, embedded videos, and other features that grab attention, build your brand, make sales and increase revenue.
Awesome blog! Do you have any tips for aspiring writers?
I’m planning to start my own website soon but I’m a little lost on everything.
Would you propose starting with a free platform like WordPress or go for a
paid option? There are so many options out there that I’m completely overwhelmed .. Any tips? Bless you!
Hello – When I started blogging I used the FREE version of wordpress. I was able to setup the blog, write my posts and Pages, and get used to how to manage it. Then when I wanted to get more flexibility and add some plugins and sell online I moved to the Paid version of WordPress hosted at BlueHost. I was able to import my blog so didn’t lose any of the content that I had created.
WordPress has lots of good tutorials. So best of luck with your new blog. You can also use a blog to setup a website. I should write a post about that 🙂
All the best
Denise