4 February 2019 - Richard Shire
It’s easy to set up a Facebook page for your business and everyone has one. Some people even ask us, ‘why do we need a website at all?’
Well there are lots of reasons but in this post we will outline just 5. Find out why a Facebook business page is not a substitute for a website.
You do not own your Facebook page, Facebook do. So unless you’re Mark Zuckerberg you it doesn’t belong to you. This means that you are not in control of it and at any point, Facebook retains the right to shut you down and cut you off from the audience. This can and has happened and those who’ve put all their focus on this one platform, experienced catastrophic consequences in their business.
Facebook wants to be a platform that’s consumer led and they are constantly surveying users to ensure they are delivering the service people want. The results consistently tell Facebook the same thing; people do not come to Facebook to be sold to. They want to connect and socialise, not to do business. For this reason, Facebook actively restricts the reach of posts from business pages. Most posts will organically reach less than 2% of a pages followers. Of course Facebook doesn’t mind you promoting your business if you pay for the pleasure so although a Facebook page is free, reaching your audience can prove to be expensive.
It’s 2019, and some research suggests that social media has reached its peak. People are leaving the platform due to fears of security and privacy as well as simply being bored of the fake social media scene. Before putting time, attention and money into Facebook, think carefully about your ideal client. How likely are they to be engaged Facebook users and more importantly are they likely to trust what they see on Facebook enough to buy it?
Unlike Facebook, you have complete control of what your website looks like, the layout, the font, the navigation and the images. You can completely personalise your website to your brand so that it is yours, without compromise.
If your website is well designed then it will be set up to guide your visitors into making a purchase. Unlike Facebook that actively works to decrease business reach your website has no such restrictions and therefore if you can get people to your website the conversion rate will be higher than relying on Mark Zuckerberg.
Although we believe Facebook still has a place in online marketing, the main role of social media should be to drive traffic to your website. Here at Aspire Shire we specialise in designing highly converting websites that showcase your business and brand effectively to your audience, guiding them effortlessly into a sale. Contact us for a free consultation.