Facebook Pages vs. Websites

by M. Kendall Ludwig, president and principal designer of CurlyRed

We have always been proud to serve small businesses and non-profits. For these entities, every dollar they spend matters. As a small business owner myself, I completely understand the need to be wise about expenses. We often do things “on the cheap” until we're able to outsource or spend more. For instance, I have never been above taking out the trash and wiping down the kitchen to save on office cleaning costs.

However, when it comes to branding and marketing, I would argue that a reasonable investment should be made. And that's really what it is—an investment. When branding and marketing (both in print and online) is done well, there is truly a return on that investment: good marketing leads to more clients, more donors, etc.

A concerning trend we've seen is that many small businesses have chosen to opt for having a business Facebook page in lieu of having a website. From the outside, that might seem like a good move: it's a platform many people are already using, it's (currently) free to have a business page, and there are no hosting or domain costs. But there are a few additional things to consider:

1. Not everyone is on Facebook/Meta. Depending on what demographic you are looking to reach, Facebook might not be reaching all (or any) of them. Very few people under the age of 25 use Facebook regularly, preferring other platforms. Business owners prefer LinkedIn. Many people are deleting the app from their phones, and deactivating their account altogether, due to time-suck or privacy concerns. Social media preferences change over time—Facebook could go the way of Friendster or MySpace (remember those?).

2. Facebook/Meta is “free,” for now. First of all, nothing is ever really free. That's why your Facebook feed is riddled with ads. But more importantly, Zuckerberg is a smart guy. It's only a manner of time before business pages will become monetized, probably at a small monthly fee that will go up over time, just like your streaming services. Furthermore, it takes time (money) to keep your page up to date, add relevant content, and to respond to messages and comments.

3. Your business page isn't really yours. Facebook/Meta owns the platform, and by extension, your page. Talk to anyone who has been in "Facebook jail": They can decide at any time, for a variety of reasons, to limit what you can post, what you can "boost," and even restrict your access to your own page. You have no real ownership rights, and if Facebook even comes under attack or is forced to shut down, your page (and all of its content) goes with it.

I don't write this to scare you, only to ask you to reexamine your online presence. We have a Facebook page, and plan to keep it going for as long as it makes sense. But our website is fully ours, and is the primary way we secure new business online. The custom websites we build at CurlyRed are an investment, but in our opinion, a very wise one.

If you'd ever like to have a longer conversation with me about this topic, I'd love to grab (real or virtual) coffee with you!