Many small businesses now choose, and rely upon, a Facebook Business Page, rather than a website, for their marketing efforts. But can social media platforms really replace the need for a website?

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It is important to understand the difference between social media and a website. Social media sites such as Facebook are typically designed to allow humans to connect and network, to generate small amounts of information that can be easily shared and discussed, whereas websites are typically designed to uniquely profile a business, product, or service.

 

A Facebook Page is a timeline based social media marketing tool which requires continuous effort and expertise to be properly effective. Studies have shown that five to ten posts per week are required as a minimum for a successful Page, whereas a website can be a dynamic all-in-one business and marketing hub, requiring minimal updates at minimal cost, allowing consumers to make fully-informed purchasing decisions.

 

A Facebook Page does have some benefits. It allows a business to reach out to its targeted demographics via customer directed ads and posts. However, to effectively target these demographics requires a knowledge of the several different types of posts that exist in order to create properly structured marketing strategies.

 

These strategies can be costly to develop, and, to be effective and give a return on time and investment, they can require considerable marketing knowledge and content skills. They can also suffer from limited organic reach due to Facebook's algorithm restrictions which can result in low customer engagement. The algorithm prioritises posts from users' friends and families to the detriment of businesses and brands. 

 

It is estimated that for Facebook Pages with fewer than 10,000 followers the organic reach is only 8.18%, and for Pages with more than 10,000 followers that reach is further reduced to just 2.59%.

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Facebook may be free to use but its algorithm has now made it a 'pay to play' media channel for targeted ads. Facebook generates huge amounts of money from its core business of harvesting users' data and then charging advertisers to access those people with targeted ads, focusing on things such as gender, location, income, and relationships. 

 

So, the goal of Facebook developers is to keep users on Facebook-hosted channels so that they can collect more personal information to service more paid ads, whereas the aim of business owners is to use their websites to convert poorly-informed offline shoppers into well-informed online buyers of goods and services. There are many different website structures and layouts that are designed around digital psychology, such as landing pages and sales funnels, that can trigger buyer responses. However, this is not possible with a Facebook Page. 

 

A growing number of business owners now recognise the need to find the right balance between customers who have a preference to seek their information from either a Facebook Page or from a company website. Both channels can engage users with answers and solutions, but ultimately there are many significant differences.

 

The following are some of those differences between a Facebook Page and a website :-

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Facebook -

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• There is limited flexibility in promoting a company's brand – Its logo and photos can be uploaded but Facebook co-brands all businesses with their colours, the brand is subordinate to Facebook.

• Adverts – Adverts, over which a business has no control, and possibly featuring those of its competitors, appear at the side of its page.

• Negative comments or reviews – A business has no control If a negative comment or review is posted on its page, it is there for all to see.

• Timelines – Unless updates are posted regularly then timelines can appear dated and lacking in relevance.

• Social reach – One in every three people is not on social media and specifically avoid it, research has shown that they also refuse to click on any Facebook results in Google searches.

• Facebook vs. Google – Facebook is one of Google’s biggest competitors and, as such, a Facebook Page's visibility may be restricted by Google's search algorithm giving a lower ranking in search results. Google prioritises website rankings over Facebook Pages.

• Terms & Conditions – Every social media site has their own rules regarding posts, including promotions and specials. Any content that is posted on Facebook can be used by them for their own purposes to the possible detriment of the business.

• No ownership – A business has no ultimate control over its page, Facebook can remove any page at their discretion with no explanation.

• Analytics – Statistics and reporting tools are restricted to Facebook’s offerings.

Website -

 

• ​A unique brand and name – A company website is specifically designed to reflect the business and its unique identity and brand. The brand is the entire identity of a business, giving it 'personality', it determines how potential customers perceive the business. A website also has its own unique locator domain name.

• Advert free – The website is focused totally on the business and not the competition.

• The owner is in control – The owner controls what customers can see.

• Keeping content fresh – A website can be easily amended and updated ensuring that content does not appear old or ‘out-dated’.

• Extended reach – A website has local, national, and global reach and access is not restricted to the social media preferences of its users.

• Search engine optimised – A properly constructed website is optimised to rise to the top of local search results on all the major search engines including Google, Bing and Yahoo.

• No external interference – No third-party can intefere or determine how a business operates online.

• A business website is exclusively controlled by its owners – An owned website can never be subordinated to the business decisions of others.

• Detailed analysis – Detailed web analytics are continually evolving and can be combined with Google's own detailed analytics. A website offers more opportunity to gain insight from traffic analytics and user-behaviour.

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Facebook is still a beneficial tool for a company's online efforts, although its limitations need to be understood when compared to the branding, content, and customer-focused benefits of a website.

 

A website gives a business total control over its online presence but a social media presence is also highly desirable. A website and social media channels should integrate seamlessly to promote the business and its goals. Ideally, social media should be used as a tool to drive traffic back to the website.

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Takeaway

 

In summary, social media is not a substitute for a website but it can be a valuable tool as an extension of a company's online marketing strategy. While a Facebook Page can be beneficial, a website is where customers will go first for detailed, accurate, and up-to-date information about a business. A website gives customers perceived value which represents the benefit that users expect to derive from it, especially in comparison to a competitor's product or service.

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