The Big Question…
You decide to start your own business, hooray! You’ve tackled all of the necessary challenges to get started. You’re up and running, and have a local reputation built up. People know you, people trust you. But, you have one major issue that’s holding you back whether you see it or not: you don’t have a website.
To be fair, you never thought you actually needed one. Your business has been riding along just fine without it. You have a solid reputation built up with the local community. You already seem to have enough work as is, juggling phone calls, managing customers… You couldn’t actually handle more if you wanted to! Besides that, you already have a presence online. You have a Facebook account for your business! “Surely” you think to yourself, “This is all I need, right?”
I’m here to tell you that simply isn’t the case. Your website is more than a place to host images, advertise your phone number and office hours, or make the occasional post. Your own, custom website is a powerful tool that will free up time you’d otherwise spend doing menial tasks. Your website works for you, in stark contrast to Facebook.
Facebook Does Not Work for You
Let’s get the obvious stuff out of the way: you don’t own Facebook. You don’t even own the account you created for your business. Everything about your Facebook account -and by extension, the perception people have of your business- is at the mercy of Facebook employees.
The content you post is not actually in a space you have control over -you have no input over the way in which customers see your content. Everything you post is chronologically listed, as opposed to listed in a way in which customers would find more useful. (Such as, putting your best-selling product or service on the front page with a big, red button for purchasing.) Furthermore, you have absolutely no control over the page’s formatting, color scheme, or layout. It’s inefficient and bland.
Worst of all, the people viewing your Facebook page are boosting the numbers of Facebook (Meta) as a company, not your business. Without a website, this is gravely putting you behind, as websites are prioritized over Facebook pages in search engine results!
If you do have a website, this huge downside is flipped on its head. Traffic brought to your own website through Facebook actually boosts your website’s performance. Therefore, if you already have a Facebook account with some followers, why not go the extra mile and get a website that does actually work for you? Part of the work required -which is getting an audience- has already been done!
You are a Customer to Facebook
You need to understand: Facebook is a social media platform. More specifically, it’s a product, and you are the customer. You are actively spending time on it, and it generates no value for yourself or your business. It’s useful for sharing photos and stories, connecting with others, and making money off of you. It makes this money by selling data to advertising companies -data generated by you and your potential customers.
Likewise, Facebook uses this collected data to optimize itself, and further draw in more customers. You have access to none of these tools, and therefore can’t effectively grow your business. If anything, this paints a clear picture that you, a Facebook user, are simply a means for Meta to make money.
You may not even notice or care that this is happening. (Many people don’t.) From your perspective, it does work for you.“It can host pictures, videos, content posts, announcements, ratings and reviews, and even has a chat function! Best of all, it’s free. Why would I spend money on a website?” You may be thinking.
Yes, Facebook does have a few things it can do for you. It (arguably) isn’t a bad tool if all you want is social media. However, it can’t replace an entire website.
Your Website Does Work For You
Your website is a tool -an investment. Just like any other tool, a good one saves you time, and makes you money. You have absolute control over the way your website looks and performs, and know exactly how well it’s performing. It is a valued asset for any business owner -a robotic worker that works for you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
First, let’s get the obvious stuff out of the way. Your website can do basically everything that you want Facebook to do for your business: hosting pictures, reviews, displaying your phone number, handling post content, etc. But, it can also do a lot more. A well-built website can:
- Answer questions quickly, giving customers information they need right away.
- Handle emails and phone calls, saving you time for more important tasks.
- Handle online sales automatically, opening brand new streams of revenue.
- Subscribe customers to newsletters, keeping them coming back for more.
- Convert leads into customers by filtering out dead-ends, saving you even more time.
- Display your service area on an interactive map, and give quotes for your services automatically.
- Schedule meetings with customers and update your calendar automatically.
- Provide real-time analytical data, giving you insights as to how you can make meaningful decisions.
These are just the most basic things a website can do for you. This doesn’t even cover what a team of well-trained web developers may be able to make for your website. Chances are, if you can think of a job you’re spending a lot of time on for your business, a website can make that job a lot easier and faster.
Your Website Leaves a Strong First Impression
Even IF we ignore all of the tools a website can provide to yourself and your customers, there’s still a single, irrefutable advantage that a website has over Facebook: it looks great and directly represents your company. People make very hasty decisions based on first impressions, and to many people, Facebook simply doesn’t impress.
Studies have shown that individuals who make a strong first impression are much more likely to retain the interest of those they have impressed. This remains true even after clearly demonstrating less ability compared to others with greater ability.
What this means for your business is: even if your business is better than someone else’s (maybe you’ve been around longer, have better-qualified employees, etc.), people will flock to other businesses that leave a stronger first impression. Likewise, they are more likely to continue to use the business that impressed them, even if they find out that your business is better!
Here’s a quick example scenario to better understand this concept:
You’re a locksmith, and a customer from out of town looks up “locksmiths near me.” Two results show up, Your Business and the Other Guy.
Your Business has an old Facebook account, 20+ years of experience, and an unshakable local reputation. People around here like you and trust you. You rely on these locals for most of your income.
The Other Guy has a sleek website: including upfront pricing, service area, and contact information all on the front page. He’s a lot newer with less than 5 years of experience, but thanks to his website has been expanding quickly. Not to mention, because search engines prioritize real websites over Facebook pages, he’s above you in the search results.
The customer, seeing the Other Guy’s website with all of its information on display, will call them and request service. The Other Guy landed the sale.
In this instance: the Other Guy impressed the customer immediately with a good website.The customer didn’t even see Your Business due to it using only a Facebook account. If Your Business was on equal footing with the Other Guy, the customer would have seen your local reputation and long history in the area, giving you the sale.
Do you now see why having a good look for your business is extremely important?
Conclusion
While Facebook has its uses, it’s not what you should be using to represent your business online. It’s the bare minimum, it doesn’t make you money, and it’s true strength is revealed only when you pair it with a website.
The way I see it: when you get a website for your business, you have reached a point of maturity and stability that is apparent to everyone. It proves to your customers -and your competition- that you really mean business. Don’t cheap out on your business by getting inferior tools. Get a quality website that looks great and performs well.
Now I ask, if you have a business with a Facebook account, why haven’t you taken the extra step to getting a quality website?
Sources and Additional Reading
- https://info.zimmermarketing.com/blog/blogging-v.-facebook
- https://www.rockstarmarketing.co.uk/do-facebook-ads-help-with-seo/
- https://kinsta.com/blog/facebook-statistics/
- https://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/studying-first-impressions-what-to-consider
- https://done.lu/no-a-facebook-page-does-not-replace-a-website/
