Just the other day I was relaxing on the couch with the TV on when a particular advertisement caught my attention. Most of the time I tend to tune out the commercials, but it was right at the end when my ears perked up. The ad was for a new movie coming out in theaters, and in an effort to boost exposure, this ad spoke about visiting a webpage at the close of the commercial. However, it wasn’t a regular website developed specifically for the movie (like we’ve seen in the past), but a Page devoted to this movie on Facebook – this is a major motion picture released by a high profile production company using a third party platform to deliver their product. Now, if this doesn’t attest to the ubiquity of Facebook, I don’t know what will. Granted, the viewer market for this movie seems consistent with the majority market of Facebook users, but there are more things at play than just market share. First, have a look the trailer. Click on the image and it will bring up a YouTube video – the link to the Facebook Page can be seen right at the end, at the 0:29 mark (I apologize for the low quality video – it was the only one I could find on YouTube that reflected what I saw on TV).
Facebook URL for 'When In Rome'
At the very end, you’ll notice the Facebook Page where one can go to find out more information about this particular movie. With such a wide market exposure, some people are undoubtedly becoming skeptical about the need for a custom website all together, citing how Facebook can be used for a commercial presence equally as effective as any website. Before we jump to any conclusions, let’s take this time to look at some of the Pros and Cons of using a Facebook Page as a website substitute:
Pros:
-You have a pre-set page template in which to work, meaning you don’t have to worry about creating a workable design for your business.
-If you have some basic social media marketing skills, you can save quite a bit of money administering a Facebook Page yourself, through your own account, instead of paying someone to create and manage a custom website.
-You don’t need to know about site creation and coding to be able to put up videos, photos, links, etc.
-Because Facebook is a leading social media presence, using their platform can vastly improve the viral spread of your business.
Cons:
-Because you have a pre-set template, you have to create your business presence within that template and you are not free to create your own design and image (your Page will look just like everyone else’s) .
-Anything you do or plan to do on your Facebook Page must strictly conform to Facebook’s guidelines – one slip up could erase your entire online presence.
-It is nearly impossible to optimize your Page for the search engines (outside link building) as you don’t have access to code. This means you will need to rely solely on your social media presence to get people talking about you, and seeing you – your competition will be in front of you when they search keywords pertaining to your business.
-People are opinionated. If certain individuals don’t like Facebook for whatever reason or what it represents, they won’t be visiting your Page.
-If a visitor wants to participate in the social aspect of the Page (comment/discuss/post) they need to have a registered Facebook account. This may limit the viral nature of your business as all do not have access.
So what to do. My recommendations are as follows:
If you have a new product or service ready for launch and you are looking to get some extra exposure, consider using a Facebook Page as a platform to further this. With a little start up time invested, the social aspect of a Facebook Page can be run on virtual auto-pilot, requiring minimal administration on your end. In the meantime, keep and maintain your own custom website. No third party social media platform can give you the unique look, flexibility, and opportunity to build organic search traffic you will need to significantly profit from the online segment of your business like your own website will. Also, don’t worry about keeping your website and Facebook presence exclusive of one another – experiment with integration to see what your visitors find useful and convenient. Ultimately, your market will decide what’s best for your online endeavors. Read and react.