You Still Need a Website

Apparently virtual kitty cats, beer pints and roses aren’t profitable enough to satisfy Facebook’s virtual ROI goals. So, they are closing the Gift Shop that features these goodies. It’s just this week’s reminder of why you still need a website.

It’s tempting to consider the possibilities of starting a “Facebook only” web presence for your new product, business or interest group. And while it absolutely should be part of your marketing plan (see Starfish Strategy) you can’t afford to make it the single touch-point for your new “whatever”. Why? Because regardless of how open a platform Facebook presents, it remains their platform. As such, it will expand and contract at the pace necessary to see Facebook toward their goals. Need proof? Consider this:

Closing the Gift Shop – if you want to send a virtual cupcake, get it done before midnight July 31st. The store is closing. At least this change came with a notice to users. Others didn’t. Including:

Notifications Change -- one of our favorite services was Facebook Notification. Using an app created by Bigfish clients could enable their customers or members to choose Facebook as a preferred notification system (i.e. email, text message, Facebook), write it to their customer/member record thereby integrating Facebook into their communications strategy. It was a great way to connect communication to preference and continue dialogue until Facebook change their process.

Custom Tab as Default change – there has been some back and forth on this but the situation remains, Facebook will decide which tab you can display to your audience. The custom tab is the mechanism that enables administrators to set a preferred display page for their guests, fans and/or those who like it. If this were a permanent setting you could control, you might give more consideration to the idea of a Facebook-only web presence except…

Privacy Settings – by default your personal information is set to be included in Facebook search and other engine searches. You can change this setting but will you? Facebook may never get this part right (to your liking) but maybe they don’t have to. It’s still their site.

Read enough? Thought so. You need control of your message and its delivery. The platform that offers you such control or predictability is your web site.

Prospects, customers, fans or members may spend most of their time facebooking, tweeting, watching YouTube videos or googling. So, connect with them there. Then direct them to the one place where you can enable their preferences, determine which messages to present and where you set the hours of operation: your website.

Let's talk. I'm on Twitter @timbigfish or visit my site http://www.timcnicholson.com/