For any business wanting to thrive in a modern world, a robust online presence is a must. And this can be built through persistent management of social media accounts and company website. The question now would be: can the business settle on having just one of the two?
Business owners are caught up in the swift and positive impacts the online world can bring to businesses, small and big-time alike, when it comes to essential factors like marketing and building customer relations.
Starting and growing a business has never been more manageable and more attainable with these social platforms. The practicality and convenience social media marketing allows are two of the things that draw business owners to use them avidly.
Facebook is one of the top social platforms used by business owners all over the world. Facebook for Business announced in 2015 that there are over 40 million active small business pages on Facebook. The platform keeps up with this ever-growing number by continuing to introduce new programs and features on Facebook specifically designed for businesses.
With Facebook and other platforms working to be more and more business-friendly, is having a business website still relevant?
Business Website
Pros
- You have complete ownership. Complete ownership over everything you put on your business website is something that can’t be achieved when using a Facebook page. This gives you complete control over everything – from the content, overall design, terms of service to whatever type of experience you want your customers to have.
- Serves as the central hub. Social media platforms are an excellent method to attract prospects, but the main goal should be to utilize them to drive traffic to your website; to learn and interact with your Business. Think of these platforms as posts pointing your customers to your actual website where you can provide them with a piece of more in-depth knowledge and experience with your brand.
- Website analytics. Website analytics can give you plenty of vital customer information such as their location, kind of pages they visit, how long they visit these pages, etc. You can use this information to learn about your target market and how you can create content that will entice them.
Cons
- Complex. The complexity of making a website overwhelms some business owners. Not to mention for others, they might need to hire a professional to put up their own business website.
Facebook Page
Pros
- Easier and more convenient. As mentioned above, social platforms like Facebook are adamant about giving business-owners more comfortable and easy usage. Some of the key features Facebook added for business owners are prominent call-to-action buttons, improved page layout and mobile optimization.
- Mobile friendly. A company as huge as Facebook can quickly provide you with regular updates and continual mobile optimization for your digital marketing. Facebook allows you to keep track of millions of mobile consumers and keep up with mobile requirements ever so effortlessly.
Cons
- Limitations. Facebook has incredible features; there’s no denying that. However, these features are not enough to provide you with full accessibility, unlike having an actual business website. One example of this dilemma would be to say there has been a Facebook outage, and you really need to respond to customer inquiries on your Page; what are you going to do? Facebook does not provide business owners with a direct line they can call when they are experiencing an inconvenience.
After looking at the pros and cons of both sides, we can all agree that having your own company website is of higher importance. You can never compromise the freedom of managing your own website with all the business-suited features of Facebook.
In addition to that, not all kinds of businesses are fit to only having a Facebook page. Consumer-based businesses are usually the type that can survive on doing so. On the other hand, for businesses like spas or hotels, their customers absolutely need to check their websites to have confidence in trying out their service.
Owning a Facebook Page and a business website are both necessities when it comes to owning a business. Should you ever find yourself having a hard time choosing between the two, why not go with both?
At the end of the day, businesses shouldn’t be relying solely on a single platform. You can always decide to equip your Business with both a Facebook Page and a website. The two options exist for a reason, and it is entirely up to you to implement them strategically.
