It’s distressing how, after two decades of being in the digital age, there are still people who don’t seem to get how important it is to adapt the business to the online world. There are still a lot of people who have either a very barebones website or, worse still, only a Facebook page. There’s nothing wrong with either of these as elements of an online strategy, of course. But they need a little something to back them up.
Here, we’re going to look at why a Facebook page isn’t enough to sustain an online business and what you should be thinking about, instead.
It’s not even enough of a social media presence
Even if you’re only trying to utilize the power of social media, using Facebook alone is far from the most effective strategy.
Every business should be using at least Facebook and Twitter. And to grow your Twitter fanbase, there’s no better place to go than Twesocial.com.
If you want to know which social media platforms you should be using, then webpages such as https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/7832-social-media-for-business.html can help you get familiar with all of them. Twitter and Facebook have the widest reach, but Instagram and Pinterest are great for brands that rely on their visual appeal such as fashion and lifestyle.
Meanwhile, LinkedIn is a great place to focus your attention on professionals, so it works well for B2B industries.
There are many better ways to promote the business
Is Facebook a good way to promote your business?
Even after all this time, the answer is yes. Social media is a great way to reach a proven and built audience, and it offers some fantastic advertising capabilities, as well. But not everyone who is on Facebook uses it, and there could be other platforms that offer a much greater opportunity for you to reach your market.
For instance, Google has perhaps the largest advertising network on the internet, and a lot of businesses are also finding success in video marketing through platforms such as Youtube. Spreading your message beyond the confines of Facebook alone.
It doesn’t offer the brand experience as a website does
If you visit a business’s web page, how does it differentiate itself from other businesses?
The logo and the banner and the posts are all different. However, most of the visual elements are going to look very much the same as any other business. As such, it’s not really a great way to make your business stand out from the crowd.
However, your website can help you establish your very own brand style that’s distinct, memorable and, most importantly of all, communicates what the brand is all about. Set up your own website and invest in good design to ensure that you’re establishing a real brand identity and brand experience that sticks in the minds of your customers.
You’re missing the opportunity to revolutionize the business
Not only could you be hobbling your business’s ability to reach more people and to have a much more convincing and impressive brand message. You could be missing the chance to change the way that the business is done.
Digital transformation, as described by https://www.intellectsoft.net/blog/what-is-digital-transformation/ is all about finding new ways to offer existing services and products utilizing the power of the digital world.
For instance, turning shopping into eCommerce, and even further into online customized goods, or turning media services in streaming platforms show just how profitable a digital transformation can be. Look at your business and think of ways an app or more specialized website should transform how customers buy your products and services for the better.
It might not help people find you online
If people are searching for your business through Facebook alone then, yes, they’re likely to find you with the right search terms. However, most people don’t start by looking for a business on Facebook.
They look for them on search engines such as Google, instead. Facebook is well-optimized for Google, but your website can be much better optimized for it instead. With local SEO tactics such as setting up a Google My Business page, you can make sure that your brand is the first thing your local customers see when they type in relevant terms.
Otherwise, it’s most likely that your competitors will sit at the top of any search engine results page, taking the clicks and conversions that could more easily come your way.
You do not own or have full control of your Facebook page
One of the limits of any social media business page or account is that you could feasibly lose control of it at any point.
Facebook owns your Facebook page, just as Twitter owns your Twitter account. You never know how future changes to policies could influence your business’s success on these platforms. For instance, recent changes to how home page advertising works on Facebook has cut a lot of visibility for a lot of businesses on the platform, as shown at https://blog.hootsuite.com/facebook-algorithm/.
To make sure your business is safe from these changes, you need to not rely solely on Facebook and have your own space that you own and control the rules of.
You might not be as easy to reach on Facebook as you think
If Facebook is your primary means of offering customer support and answering questions, you could be missing out on big portions of your audience who don’t know where to go with any issues they might be facing.
Over 30% of all internet users in the US alone do not use Facebook. Without any other means to get in touch with the business, be it a phone number, email address or an on-site chatbot, you could be leaving them in the dark. Not giving adequate customer support is the easiest way to send your customers to your competitors.
If you’re taking your business online, it’s not enough to do it half-heartedly. And since pretty much every business needs an online component to stay competitive nowadays, no business should settle for just a Facebook page
