In the beginning, you had business websites, later social networks started with the intention of enabling people to connect with each other. The advent of social networks as a means for companies to market their goods and services had a massive influence on the way people tweet, post, and socialize online. This has especially been true of the popularity of Facebook.
Each business receives billions of monthly users, which suggests no business can afford to stay oblivious to Facebook. However, as the popularity of this platform has increased, so has the controversy over it. One such dispute is whether websites still need to be profitable for companies given their popularity on Facebook. The answer to this is yes, you need a business website.
A business website gives you control of your customer’s experience
Relying on Facebook’s famous third-party platform comes with many benefits. There is no denying that. But it’s not without its trade-offs, and the trade-off is a lack of control. No matter how hard you customize your Facebook page, Facebook has total control over parts and interactions available to your customers.
No matter how hard you try to customize Facebook’s page of your company, Facebook’s standards will dictate what your page currently looks like. Facebook’s blue will remain resistant to little your reservations to change it, and it will always set the standard for your page’s design. You won’t be able to communicate with your fans the way you want on Facebook.
Another challenge you may find is that Facebook’s content is centered on posts. If you want to try blogging instead, Facebook’s post limitations with their low search engine reach are not likely to be enough.
Incidentally, none of this will be an issue when you create your own website. With a website, you can show your brand in whatever manner you favor, especially if you are catering to the needs of non-profit or religious organizations.
Google is the world leader in online searches
The latest statistics show that Google handles over 99,000 searches per second (Internet Live Stats, 2022). This leads to more than 8.5 billion searches every day (Internet Live Stats, 2022).
Facebook essentially aims to be a large community network of sorts, but no matter how many searches are done there, you can be sure that a tiny percentage of sites don’t get relevant traffic that greatly influences your business. Can’t you sustain your revenue without relying so heavily on search engines like Google, Bing, or DuckDuckGo?
Targeted search rankings and business listings are vital in increasing your brand visibility, generating sales leads, or increasing your clientele base. Facebook landing pages, however, cannot possibly replicate the corresponding exposure.
A quality website will determine your customer’s credibility
If you choose to design your website in an excellent way, this might help customers recognize you as someone they can easily trust. Anyone with a Facebook page can easily fabricate fake data and pay for thousands of likes and reviews if they wish to give the impression of being a legitimate business.
Nothing against Social Media but I really feel more comfortable reading a good old Google review than measuring success and credibility based on the number of likes. Social Media is a great tool but you need a combination of both, Social Media and a decent website.
Facebook’s terms and conditions may affect your business
When setting up the page for your business first, you have to accept the terms and conditions of the third-party platform in which you plan to operate your business site. Worse yet, various platforms, such as Facebook, change their terms of service all the time, and the algorithms that make your pages appear. So regulations that seem favorable when setting up your business page might change.
What will you do if the terms of your page no longer precisely match your business plan? Well, your only choices are to continue operating under the previously determined altered terms or shut down your page entirely.
Running your website permits you to make policies according to your tastes, rather than those dictated by the website you’re running. That permits you to reduce your own stress, as you can stop worrying about the policies of your brand-new site, and can instead focus on offering the best possible experience to your customers.
The competition on Facebook is tough
Since the competition for Facebook users’ interests can be quite fierce, it’s important to start your business by defeating rival pages for potential consumers’ attention. As more businesses set up Facebook pages, the competition for Facebook users’ interests continues to develop, pushing brands to invest more resources in advertising on social media sites.
Unlike on a website, however, even if you get your ad on their screen, there’s a high possibility that they will immediately scroll past it to view the most recent story and there’s nothing you can do to prevent it.
So, how is a business website different? First, you need to research the competition to create a market strategy, and having a great SEO strategy is important because getting more clients and traffic requires time. Once your website gets more exposure, you’ll have the ability to control your audience better.
Conclusions
Having a business website is crucial for reaching success. It offers you access to information detailing how website visitors interact with your website, who their referrals are, and how long they are on your website. In addition, a Facebook page for your brand will allow you to broaden your marketing campaign using other media outlets.
Does your company need a website or a more advanced digital marketing plan? We’re here to help. We can sit down with you to determine the ideal approach for your business. Call us today for an appointment.