Facebook is Better than a Web Site?

[Laurie Rogers]

I got this in my inbox the other morning, ""I believe FB is much easier and most used by consumers than websites. People will check out the website only once and not bother to go back... it is a waste of money and time... almost everyone is on FB now... and people can get instant updates from there as well. FB is free... who do you work for???

Brief advice version - google is the biggest search engine, market research shows that youtube is now the worlds second biggest search engine, billions of people use those two search engines, versus only millions using FB. You couldn't even put half as much information on FB as you could on a web site due to FB policies, therefore limiting "business details". Most people on FB in groups think when you're sending them messages, that you are spamming them and don't even know why you're sending them a message (personal experiences - that happens to me a lot). You maintain full control on your own web site, where here we have to abide by what FB says we can and can not do. Most people on FB are using it to socialize with family and friends and tell us what they're doing, they could care less about "other stuff" - this is from a few exp, not only my own, but I do know some people have had great success with FB promo's - so that could vary, but generally I think my results are accurate.


I've got more advice but anyone care to add? And I'm going to point her to this thread

[Mike Merz]

Hey, Laurie.

Being old school, like yourself .. .. I've always felt your website to be akin to an offline storefront. First impressions can make or break a potential relationship; your self and product branding need to be qualified by your visitors in order to establish credibility. That's not easy to do when you're using a sub domain off of a free hosting service provider, or using a social networking site page as your home page. It's almost like working out of a suitcase in comparison. These sites should be used to supplement ... not be your main residence, IMHO.

Cheers,

Mike

[dougp]

I think facebook is great to integrate with your business, but to use it as your official website doesn’t seem stable to me. The purpose of facebook is to not sell products, but to network with individuals. That doesn't mean that you can’t use it to generate leads and sales to your website, but I believe that you should have a website hosted on a server that you’re financing for professionalism and stability. Remember, your facebook account can get deleted if it’s deemed as too commercial, so it’s never good to place all of your eggs in one basket.

Doug

[Laurie Rogers]

Hey, Laurie.

Being old school, like yourself .. .. I've always felt your website to be akin to an offline storefront. First impressions can make or break a potential relationship; your self and product branding need to be qualified by your visitors in order to establish credibility. That's not easy to do when you're using a sub domain off of a free hosting service provider, or using a social networking site page as your home page. It's almost like working out of a suitcase in comparison. These sites should be used to supplement ... not be your main residence, IMHO.

Cheers,

Mike

Yeah I've tried explaining that to quite a few people and not just about FB, myspace as well, these should be used a lead generation, nothing more, because they could in fact get shut down at any moment. And considering how many of these sites get slapped with lawsuits - FB is dealing with a major one now, it can only be a matter of time before the "well is tapped dry". And once the novelty wears off, it wears off, just like bebo and myspace, so it's important to work while you can lead wise and then off to the next "fad" lol

[Laurie Rogers]

The other thing that baffles me, is why would you want to send a lot of traffic to a site where they're making money off of you (aside from JV's or affil programs - quite a bit of difference lol). After all it is your business and you should be the one profiting the most IMHO.

[Jeffrey Dean]

one person that I think that uses Facebook well is Jason Moffatt. Clearly FB is not his landing page or primary source of selling "stuff." He is focused on building relationships with an emphasis on adding value and keeping his facebookers up to date in his life. Then once in a while he makes suggestions about products in a subtle way.

I could see Frank Kern doing something similar on FB if he wasn't stepping back to focus solely on the big fish.

I realize not everyone digs their style. I like it. Its real. They seem to understand that regardless of the medium used (FB, salesletters, videos) its about selling in a way people can relate to.

[Laurie Rogers]

one person that I think that uses Facebook well is Jason Moffatt. Clearly FB is not his landing page or primary source of selling "stuff." He is focused on building relationships with an emphasis on adding value and keeping his facebookers up to date in his life. Then once in a while he makes suggestions about products in a subtle way.

I could see Frank Kern doing something similar on FB if he wasn't stepping back to focus solely on the big fish.

I realize not everyone digs their style. I like it. Its real. They seem to understand that regardless of the medium used (FB, salesletters, videos) its about selling in a way people can relate to.

I agree with what you're saying, FB is a huge portion of my networking, however my post is about whether your whole business modual should be built around fb and replace a web site. Thst is what the lady is stating, 100% reliance on FB and no web site.

[Jeffrey Dean]

you and I are in complete agreement laurie about 100% reliant on FB. I should have stated that first before adding to that.

[Danielle Schaeffer]

I have to agree here too. I don't even know how to set up a fan page.

-Dani

[KevinRiley]

Myself, I don't want to rely on any property I don't own. With my own websites, I'll never have them taken away from me overnight because of some TOS disagreement, I have full control of the content and the visitor experience, and I'm building up my own assets.