Today’s article was inspired by a recent comment from a new business owner who said they were not interested in building a web site but preferred to create a Facebook page!
I was not concerned about losing potential business, but it was important to highlight that they should not put all their eggs in one basket. Facebook requires hard work to get results like any other marketing effort. However, there are a few important and compelling reasons why a business can not rely on Facebook for their only form of marketing.
6. Content has an expiry date.
All content on Facebook that people read is chronological, therefore content does not stay viewable for long. This means you either need to pay for ads or keep reposting your content. Most users will become annoyed at seeing sales oriented content and will hide these posts from their feed.
5. Limits your demographics.
People who are using Facebook are in a different mindset and that is they’re being social. Doing business or looking for something to buy is not top of their agenda.
It’s more difficult to capture your potential customer in the purchase process.
Do you know if your actual customer is using Facebook?
4. Out of your control.
Whilst you can put some info. about your business, you are very limited with the type of information. For example, you can’t build a landing page to generate leads. The space could change tomorrow or another social platform will be more popular tomorrow.
3. You don’t own it.
Facebook owns the space. Your content including your privacy is in their hands.
2. It’s not Google.
It’s not the first place your potential customer goes when they are searching for a product or service. Google is still the number one place where this happens.
1. Easy distraction.
Facebook is designed to engage their users socially. The platform will distract your users with other posts and news. Before you know it, your user will forget why they went to Facebook in the first place.
There are alternative social networks that may be better for your business.
Some of these require less maintenance and offer user friendly methods for advertising.
LinkedIn is useful for connecting with your audience in a more professional capacity. It’s a good network to establish yourself as an expert in your field. Ads and sponsored updates are available and more accessible for businesses.
Google+ is a well designed network for business too where you can boost your search engine results and drive visitors to your website. Learn more about Google+.
