Ever thought to yourself, "I need a website, but isn't it easier just to do everything through Facebook?"
This thought persists in around 36 percent of small businesses, which is an amazingly high number when you consider how long the internet has been around.
That hasn't stopped the climb of active business pages on Facebook, which is now more than 50 million.
In this article, we'll be discussing whether Facebook really is a good substitute. Spoiler alert: it's not.
Here are some specific downsides to relying entirely on Facebook.
Failing to create an identity of your own makes it difficult to brand.
It also will either cheapen your reputation or make it impossible to build one in the first place.
If you put all your content on Facebook, they now own your content. If you, in the off chance, loose your login or get locked-out for some reason, you now have lost your only web presence. Many small business have had their Facebook business pages created by a "tech savvy" employee. When that employee leaves, they have potentially lost their access to the Facebook page because that employee was the only one that had access to the page.
Having a Facebook page is fine, but it shouldn't be your only web presence because many people do not like Facebook and avoid it like the plague. Having your own website is a much better option in conjunction with social media pages like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Facebook is in business for Facebook—not you. The company's tweaks and changes are designed for its own benefits.
That has many foreseeing a problem for marketers primarily using the platform in 2020. Now that we know what happens without a website, let's discuss why you should get one.
Those wondering do I need a website should look no further than engagement.
Facebook can get you a lot of eyeballs, but most of the engagements on the platform are superficial at best.
Another thing to consider is the narrative process.
Your brand has a story to tell. Your platform is the best place to do that because you set the terms.
The leads you generate on Facebook stay on Facebook, and that limits you.
It's difficult to build any type of email campaign, for instance, when you don't have actual email addresses to work with. As long as your messaging is going through a third-party, it'll be subject to what that third-party deems appropriate.
Facebook is known primarily as an ad-generated revenue model.
Those ads are from businesses like yours, and they create a healthy bottom line for the social media giant.
If you've got something to sell, you're much better off engaging your customers off-page. There's just too much noise among the billions of accounts to do otherwise. Here's a useful guide to website conversions if you're curious about selling on your own.
That said, Facebook is a useful tool.
It's a way to test engaging content, draw eyeballs in a hurry, and even hit big with the right combination of messaging and branding.
You should always use it as a draw to your platform, though, and not the platform itself. Otherwise, Facebook determines how successful you are instead of you.1
So, do I need a website?
Stop asking that and start building one today.
Contact Envision IT Solutions to get up and running with a professional site that draws visitors.
