My Good Friend Roshan at Social Rank posted an interesting question on Facebook the other day. I thought it was such a good thread that I wanted to share it here. Cheers!
Will Facebook replace company Web sites? If yes, is this good/bad?
Tony Dix I can not see companies large or small loosing their website presence, but instead using Facebook as a stepping stone for current and potential customers to get to their web sites via promotions etc that are run on Facebook.
Joe Shevy It eventually will.
Eden Rudin I think it eventually it will in the small business sector, why would a small business pay a web guy $300 to create a website that he has very little control over and is very ‘static’ when he can join FB for free and update it regularly..plus do so much more (deals, menus, events, photos, etc) all on his own!
Website Academics I see Facebook taking over Googles market, and like pages merging with, if not replacing website
Paul Shively Great question. While I think it’s not likely, I’m continually amazed by each step forward FB takes and can see many small operators not as likely to create a website as quickly. I like the idea of being able to create an independent environment where those interested in my content can focus exclusively on it. With commerce coming I wonder if and or when FB sites could become larger profit centers than sites.
Akis Liantzouras Small enterpices I believe they ll jump in. Big guys need commitment by Facebook for canges. It is not possible to invest 100 k and then FB changes the page view…
Richard Graham no… Its an extention of …
Milene Laube Dutra Creating a nice looking FB page is not for free…it may cost more than a nice independent WPss site. So this is not about an inexpensive way to have a powerful Internet presence! What a site cannot beat FB is in the engagement/relationship realm. It is true that some are usinf FB as their site (eg.: Enchantment book by Guy Kawasaki) but even Mari Smirh, the FB queen, uses FB to lead people to her own site! Wait until FB becomes expensive!
Cathy Conder Rodgers Don’t think so – this would give Facebook power over individual brands, while they choose/allow how our information is displayed.
Leopoldo Cardenas I think is going to make company websites work better. I now go to the company’s website just to see if they have a “follow us on Facebook” option. They should all include this now.
SocialRank Excellent points!
Like many of you, I believe Facebook Fan Pages should be an extension of the independent website. Based on who your audience is (local vs global), there are still many places which have slow internet (that causes FB to loa…d incredibly slow) or have simply censorship rules for social media sites.Here’s the other thing: Facebook can change its rules on a dime that leave people scrambling to ‘catch-up’ with the change. Some may seem this as good, some may seem it as bad – whatever the case, a website allows more flexibility to follow your own rules.That being said, though – Facebook Fan Pages are a splendid place for a cash-strapped business to get started. By creating buzz, generating interest, and getting the conversation going, you know exactly what elements will eventually need to go into a full-blown website.
Casey Zeman
Wow Roshan opened up the flood gates. Ok here it comes. My personal belief is that Facebook cant replace company websites…yet. The reason is because facebook is not paid for. Meaning that they can shut you down at any moment, without n…otice and often times without reason. Do you think a company would want that risk looming over their heads? Now for people that have sites that are already free such as Blogger, WordPress.com, and others , yes Facebook is a great option because you are creating a site within a community. You can knock on your neighbors door anytime, and accessing the community is 1 million times easier.However, for those who are protecting themselves and their online real estate- FACEBOOK is like renting an apartment.
I personally want to OWN. SO I have my own site, that I pay for, that I CONTROL.A great option for a having control but still having a community around you is NING. NIng allows you to create your own social network. There use to be a time when it was free, not (thank god) it is paid for.Thank God, because NING has an obligation to those who pay for the site. You have ownership when you pay. Otherwise, where is your security?Think about this , if Facebook canceled your account tomorrow, would you be ready for it?Here is a post that i wrote when i had my youtube account hacked and the things i went through. I also go through ways of avoiding the same thing from happening to you, and how to be prepared for it. Hint! back up your facebook contacts. ( i have a video about that on MY site as well) noticed that i said MY SITE…http://caseyzemanonline.com/2010/08/how-i-coped-with-my-youtube-channel-being-hacked/.
SocialRank ‎@Casey: Brother, you couldn’t be more correct. Glad to see we’re on the same page here
Idan Melamed I don’t think Facebook pages will replace websites, because big companies want as much control as possible over their sites.
John-Paul Herrmann They’ll have to keep their Web sites for a few month. FB has not yet the infrastructure to replace major corporate web sites
Darsh Panchu Sure…if they could someday acquire a few companies like Salesforce, Monster, and an ERP platform like Oracle… and develop a standalone Portal platform combining all of the above:-). Or they could just continue to evolve as part of a Hybrid(Mashup).
Casey Zeman Hey man, can i take this thread and make it a post in my blog? I think it is really great.
SocialRank Buddy, this is social media — GO FOR IT! 😉
Casey Zeman Cool thanks I will as you say GO FOR IT! 😉
This is a really intriguing concept. I would like to hear your take on this.
What’s REALLY interesting is that I’m taking a facebook thread and sending out onto the web by creating this post. If you don’t already know, Facebook is not search engine optimized. It has no follow links, therefore just like Vegas, ‘What happens on Facebook , stays on Facebook.’
Now I welcome you to make comments below, either through the facebook comment section or the wordpress comment section. Think about this cool, yet super dorky idea that we can comment on a WordPress Blog that automatically sends that comment to Facebook about an already existing thread in facebook, to make it more viral on…Facebook
BUT…at the same time, optimizing it for the search engines by creating this WordPress post.
Hmmmm….
You say –
“Facebook is not search engine optimized. It has no follow links, therefore just like Vegas, ‘What happens on Facebook , stays on Facebook.’”-
I just “Googled” my page name and got 39,700 results with my Facebook page at No1 and my facebook videos at 2 & 3 more of my facebook entries were hidden.
Surely this indicates that facebook is indeed search engine optimised and a well written note or video description can get that item highly ranked on Google.
Hi Glynn, you are correct you will find your Facebook pages on Google when searching for them. What i should have probably been clear about is that in regards to SEO , Facebook and Twitter have “no Follow” links, which cause activity on Facebook to a less optimized for creating links and page ranking. Facebook is however absolutely wonderful for sending friends to your site, but as a link building tool Digg is a perfect way to go ( just as example) . Here is a link to a post that really sums up which marketing hubs are perfect for x,y, and z. http://mashable.com/2011/03/11/social-media-marketing-chart/
Hi Casey.
Found you on YouTube.
I was looking for blog articles on WordPress set up, operation and professional themes.
Frustratingly, the 5 minute video spent all its five minutes talking about GoDaddy. I wonder whether others of your potential audience may also have wanted to get to the potential influence blogs have on niche marketing.
To your question, as well as FaceBook, there is indeed a plethora of options for start up businesses or those trying to come to terms with technology. What a business owner wants is a clear steer about which direction to choose and why. Given they have a thriving business, or are trying to get one, outsourcing the “how the technology works” bit should follow, providing they have the confidence that their contact knows the technologies and can harness them accordingly.
Your link provides some great material for some deep thinking about marketing strategy, thanks for that.
So my current questions for a small business would be:
1) Why GoDaddy & DomainGator?
2) Why not FaceBook?
As suggested by other comments, most businesses out there are small businesses, not large corporates. FaceBook has the means to show business product and expertise, and would work well in a start up business. Yes, you would need to take your link and decide how to drive traffic there. And yes, as a large corporate you’d want more control, but static websites do have the “maintenance” downside, and are notoriously difficult to keep fresh.
So FaceBook has some considerable advantages even if we remove the closeness to customer that even large brands are now beginning to recognise and promote.
I’d say with will, determination, hard work and some marketing smarts, it’s possible today.
Warm Regards, Peter.
://twitter.com/@innov8tor3
Great question guys! I dont not think facebook will ever replace a website.
It is just a place to stay in touch with your customers and prospects and drive them back to your website.
I will not put the control of my business in the hands of a third party.
I rather have a self hosted website that I have full control over.
but that just my opinion Facebook is just another traffic generating technique
Joshua the ZamuraiBlogger
Thanks Josh, yeah that seems about right. I know people that invest 10k in fanpages and then hear stories from my friends who have successful fb campaigns of getting 1 million fans and making big bucks but then getting taken over by facebook due to facebook wanting that revenue stream.
Terrific article! That is the kind of info that are meant to be shared across the web.
Shame on the seek engines for now not positioning this put
up higher! Come on over and talk over with my web site .
Thank you =)