Why Facebook Isn’t Enough For Online Marketing

Written by Doreen Dilger, The Home Based Business Coach

Many home based business owners have jumped on the Facebook Page bandwagon. Some are even abandoning the idea of having web pages and blogs in favor of a Facebook Page. It seems so much easier than the other options. However, this is a huge mistake. Facebook is not enough in the world of online marketing to make a difference. Here's why.

·         Your Online Presence Needs Many Entry Points:  To attract your audience today you need several places in which they can find you. You need social media like Facebook, along with your website. Your website should be considered the main source for all your social media sharing. Your entire focus with social media should be to drive traffic, increase engagement, and improve the ranking of your website. Having only one point of entry into your business will leave out a lot of people.

·         Facebook Is Not Set Up to Provide Information in a Cohesive Way:  If someone wants more information after seeing a post on Facebook, even if they go to your Facebook Page it is very hard to find information. Posts get hidden in the crowd. But, you can lead them to your website which can have information for your audience displayed in a cohesive way that can be used easily by them. They'll be able to contact you easier, and get more information on a website than they can on even the best made Facebook Page.

·         You Need to Build an Email List Too:  While people may communicate with you via your Facebook Page, you also need to build an email list. You've heard it said that "the money is in the list" and it's not an exaggeration. Building an email list is an important factor in any business's success or failure. Commutating to your audience only through Facebook isn't enough; you must also build a targeted email list, capturing their information and sending up-to-date information to subscribers often. Email lists are still the best forms of direct marketing that exists.

·         You Don't Own Your Facebook Page:  That's right; you don't own the Facebook Page and you can't back it up. You could be shut down for any reason on any given day. In addition, not every person who "likes" your page sees your updates. Facebook decides who sees your updates. You can pay for sponsored posts so that those who have already "liked" you can see your posts, but why would you do that? Facebook is an important part of online marketing, but it's not the only part of online marketing. In fact, it's not even the most important factor.

The most important factor in your online marketing efforts is your website. You control it, you own it, and you won't be wiped out just because someone else decides your content isn't good enough, or appropriate. You can't be wiped out without any warning like you can with social media like Facebook. Until and unless these facts change, you still need a self-hosted website to where you drive traffic from social media.