Can our Facebook page initially serve as our website?
I have seen a few companies using their facebook page as a website and sending potential customers there. If I only have some basic information to provide, is this ok? It makes it easier than trying to get people to like us on Facebook and also maintain a separate website, but I also want to look legit.
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Sep 13, 2015
My wife hase a Facebook page that she use as a website because whe she had a site, not enough people visit that site and Facebook does! Everyday there are more and more likes!!
Sep 15, 2015
John, funny thing is most my clients get a ton of business from their
facebook page FREE. But those that don't know how to use it correctly are not. It's only powerful if you know what to do...
Sep 13, 2015
No, your FB page would be used to promo your product or service, however social media is all about sound bites. You can't properly market all aspects of your service or product on social media because there is likely far too much info for a social media user to consume. They want there info short and sweet.
Your website is where you have all the details and info about your product or service. Your social media should intrigue and entice the consumer enough to drive them to your website to get all the details.
A website and social media go together like hand in glove, but the website is the base from which your social media draws on.
Sep 13, 2015
Facebook is social not business so no it will not work. If i had a ice cream van with ice cream cones on but wanted to mainly sell hot dogs just dose not work. It's not that expensive for a website and a SEO expert. Think of your site as the trust factor i trust the visa sign for example.
Sep 13, 2015
So I have a question for you - are you only using Facebook? I don't know your business - the product or service that you have - but who is your target market? Where are they at? You see, there is a BIG difference between the internet online marketing and the old way of marketing.
People access the internet 24 hours a day - either thru their laptops, their smartphones and or their tablets. You actually get ranked by the amount of internet activity you have - and that also includes how people are liking, sharing, commenting on you.
Wordpress is the way to go - Kim nailed it in her comment back - but if you do a search for your business what comes up? Or for your name? I did a search for "Kim Donald" not knowing anything about what she does, but liking her answers - and getting to know her on Mosaic Hub - Kim - you do come up on Google search - the one that I clicked on was the linked in link - because there are other Kim Donald's - you are actually on my 2nd tier in Linked In and I just sent an invite
The reason she came up on the first page of my search in google is because of her social networks and internet activity - I can find her website thru her linkedin account as well - because that is the next place I go
Search for Judy Musgrove - on google - you will see me come up many times on that first page and you will see my picture - why? Because I have a website, I have many social network business pages, I am involved in over 10 social networks - And I utilize a site called "Brand Yourself" which is a program that allows you to clean up your internet presence - (there are other Judy Musgrove's - but I am telling the internet - yep that is me - or nope that isn't me) Gradually all the (Nope that isn't me) drops off leaving the real me to come up in the search.
Here is one last thing - you need to make sure that you are verified and registered with Google, Bing, Yahoo, Yandex and Alexa - you need to link and sync all of your social networks with each other and your website.
Your website is going to describe what you do, give tips or information - provide contact info - tell a bit of bio about you etc. People want to see this - With wordpress you can blog - and you can set up your blog posts to automatically post to your social networks.
Also, there are other comments on here about Facebook - many people are not on Facebook - They are on other social networks - so it is very important to know who your target audience is and be on their social networks.
Sep 13, 2015
The answer is no. Remember Facebook controls how the page is viewed in terms of a news feed. A Facebook page should an extension of your business and brand.
Sep 13, 2015
Are most of your clients on Facebook? Do they have Facebook accounts? Facebook is a very limited channel, you might be better off on Linkedin or Google+ which is open to the public and at least will help your SEO but if you're asking what is stopping you from having a website created? Costs or fear of investing too much into an idea that might not work? Fear is one of the most powerful of emotions, don't let it run you, here is a great video with Ben Nunez, co-Founder of Birdbox who is a serial entrepreneur, very successful, won an investment from Techstars to start Birdbox which is one of many businesses he created. We actually created an entire site just for people who are getting into the entrepreneurial arena and want some healthy inspiration, tools and a push to feel confident. The site will expand as we go so really visit often.
Tell me what you think and browse other interviewees, that list will grow so if you have any ideas on what content or topics would help you move forward, let us know.
Btw, focus on Linkedin or Google+ not Facebook if you want to try social media as your base. Think of where exactly is your audience at the time they are most receptive to your message. If it's Facebook and you know most of them have Facebook than that might work for a while.
http://www.rebelspatch.com/fear-always-afraid-right-way/
Sep 13, 2015
Hmm! It's about managing expectations. Most people will not take you seriously these days if you don't have a website. However, it depends on what you sell and who your customers are. If they don't mind, who cares. The thing is, you can't know if they don't mind or not.
Sep 13, 2015
I think it depends on your business. Most of my arts business is social media only, because I share a lot of images and links and much of the traffic seems to go there, and almost all my followers and fans are young people who are intimately familiar with social media and generally prefer it to visiting a static website. I do have a website for my Mary Kay business, and I have a WordPress blog in addition to social media sites for my consulting business.
I think it also depends on your client base. If your clients are younger (Gen-X and younger), they will visit your site far less than they do your Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, etc; an older client base (Boomers and older) will generally expect some sort of non-social media website, even if it's a subdomain of something like WordPress.
It is also okay to use your Facebook as a splash page with an announcement that you're still setting up the website for your business, and then announce again when it is complete (this is becoming a more and more common practice for businesses who just want to get started quickly, that use their domain as a placeholder until they can get the site built).
So I'd consider your customer base (or potential customer base) and go from there, and certainly price as many options as you can for a non-social site depending on your budget.
Sep 13, 2015
There are a lot of people that hate facebook and others that use it just for fun so having it as your main website could make you look less professional. Also, there isn't much you can do to differentiate yourself from other facebook pages.
If you're looking for something quick then I agree with Kim Donald that you should look at WordPress.org as it gives you more flexibility.
Good Luck!
Sep 13, 2015
To add to everyone else's good advice about a basic Wordpress site (and I also strongly agree that using a Facebook page in place of a website is not good for making a business look trustworthy):
If you don't know how to build a basic Wordpress site on your own, don't worry about it. You can find plenty of inexpensive and experienced freelancers on sites like elance, upwork and fiverr that can build you a basic site for a couple hundred dollars. They can also show you how to do the maintenance yourself since for a basic site, Wordpress has a very easy content management system. And for $20-$60 extra, you can also buy a professional-looking theme for your Wordpress site from a site like Themeforest. Then ask your Wordpress developer to install your chosen theme (or ask your freelancer to recommend a theme they think would most suit your needs). Just remember to choose a "responsive" theme, which means the site will automatically render nicely on PCs, mobile phones and tablets.
Sep 13, 2015
Just remember you don't own your Facebook page, but you would own your website. That being said, what would have to be "maintained" on your website?
Sep 13, 2015
This is a tricky one. Depending on your business, it's not a good idea. I think it makes sense for something like a photography business or a small commodity company, but your profile says you're dabbling in the medical field. There's something about Facebook that makes people feel uneasy about a business's legitimacy if that's the only presence they've got. However, you absolutely should have your Facebook page built. Once that's done, there isn't a ton of maintenance that needs to be done. If you're worried about difficulty in maintaining an actual website, you can build a pretty simple website using Wordpress. There are so many free layouts (plus it'd be a good idea to purchase your domain name while/if you can so you don't have to worry about that later). I'd love to talk more with you about this if you'd like!
Sep 13, 2015
The general expectation of customers is that businesses would have a website, so I would recommed this and then link it to your Facebook page and Twitter. This could be a simple landing page to begin with, and then you could add to it later. Wordpress is a good place to start. Having a website site, however simple, linked into your social media will increase your visibility, and seems to be reassuring for customers.
Ruth
Sep 13, 2015
I agree with Kim Donald. You definitely need a website in order to be professional. The purpose of the website is to have "call to action" statements on the home page for people to call, sign up, join etc. and you cannot do this through your Facebook page. You also need a "contact us" page, a products/services page and an 'about us page'. You can also get great videos on how to build a Wordpress website on YouTube. Here is one I recommend. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFnKu3-n-HI
Sep 13, 2015
If you want to "look legit" you need a website - even a simple one. WordPress is relatively easy to use. For me, as a consumer, I am totally turned off by a business that does not have a website.
If you decide to put together a website, I would advise against using Wix or Weebly. Go with WordPress.org. I recommend Hostgator for hosting. It's only $10 a month. WordPress has many free themes. You can put together a simple website fairly quickly. Udemy has many free tutuorials.
Sep 13, 2015
I agree with you Kim - I use Wordpress and use Host Gator - but the main thing is the fact that yes, you need a website and you also need to have online internet activity.
Sep 13, 2015
Kim I also want you to know (and you may know this) use the plugin "Nextscripts" it is an app that will sync your blog posts with your social networks - allowing you to take care of the posting and activity on the social networks all in one sweep! Also, Lionscripts is another plugin that you should use - it will register and verify your site with Google+, Bing, Yandex, Alexa, Pinterest and I think Yahoo - can't remember off hand - also Nextscripts does this with the search engines as well - oh and use SEO Yoast - this will boost up your page and posts ranking and assist you with the keywords and info in the designated area's.
She may have a lot of friends but friends are not putting dollars in your pocket.