On 4th October 2021, Facebook went down for six hours<\/a>. For most people, it was just a brief inconvenience. But if you were a business relying solely on Facebook to connect with customers, it would have been a much bigger problem. Imagine if the outage lasted even longer. How would your business have handled it?<\/p>\n In this article, we\u2019ll explain why relying only on a Facebook page isn\u2019t enough for your business. We\u2019ll show you why owning your own space online is more important than ever, especially when it comes to keeping your business up and running.<\/p>\n Fast forward to October 2024, and the owners of the Black Bull pub in Donington, Lincolnshire, faced a devastating blow when their Facebook page \u2014 home to over 8,500 followers \u2014 <\/span>disappeared without warning<\/span><\/a>. With 80% of their bookings coming through Facebook, they found themselves cut off from their customers, unable to access reservations, or even contact inquiries. While they suspected the deletion was due to copyright issues, without clear answers, they were left in limbo. \u201cIt\u2019s like someone has died,\u201d said one of the owners.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Just goes to show the real-world consequences of relying too heavily on social media platforms. Facebook has made it incredibly easy and free for businesses to create a presence online, but is it wise to make your business 100% dependent on a single platform?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Credit where credit\u2019s due: Facebook is still one of the biggest social media platforms out there, with over 2.9 billion monthly active users worldwide. While platforms like Instagram and TikTok have gained traction, its reach remains huge.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Facebook\u2019s growth popularity has waned a little, but it still leads the pack for raw number of users. Around<\/span> 51 million of us Brits are on FB<\/a>, making it a big part of daily life for many. For businesses, that means a solid opportunity to connect with a broad audience, regardless of the latest trends.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n What sets Facebook apart is how it lets businesses interact with people \u2014 not just broadcast messages. This gives new customers a sense of what a brand is really like, helping them decide if they want to get involved. Facebook makes it easy to track what competitors are up to, helping you stay ahead. With insights into your audience\u2014what they like, when they\u2019re online, and even what they\u2019re saying about your brand\u2014you can refine your approach and keep up with trends.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The platform also offers valuable advertising options, letting you target people based on their interests. This means you can create content that resonates with potential customers who are more likely to engage.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n So, even though we\u2019d always argue the case for getting your own website, it\u2019s still worth setting up both a Facebook profile \u2014 together with your Google My Business profile (to make sure you\u2019re visible on Google Maps). It\u2019s an important way to connect with customers, update opening times, collect reviews, and more, even if you do already have your own dedicated website online.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n But while Facebook can be a powerful tool for connecting with potential customers, it shouldn\u2019t be your only tool. Having your own website allows you to create something far more lasting \u2014 a platform where customers can get to know your business, engage with your brand, and return for more.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n See also:<\/span> Local SEO in 10 \u2013 How Do I Get My Business Found Online? <\/a><\/em><\/p>\n These days it\u2019s as easy to build your own website, as it is to build a Facebook page. With a tool like<\/span> 123 Reg Website Builder<\/a> you can get a site up and running in under an hour.<\/span><\/p>\n When you have your own website, the design choices are endless. You\u2019re not stuck with Facebook\u2019s layout and templates. Whether you want to add extra features or just create something unique, you have full control over the look and feel of your site.<\/span><\/p>\n Aside from having the freedom to create exactly what you want, you can integrate with any other site or application on the web.<\/span><\/p>\n Facebook is a walled garden of pages and applications that will only work with each other.<\/span><\/p>\n But your website is part of the open, publicly accessible web and therefore able to integrate fully with the full ecosystem of the Internet.<\/span><\/p>\n This freedom to create exactly what you want is central to building a memorable brand. Your website gives you the opportunity to create an online experience for your visitors, the chance to plant a unique seed in their memory. It starts with your domain name, but that seed grows through the website and later by email.<\/span><\/p>\n By contrast, from local businesses to global brands, all Facebook pages are essentially very similar. Users can\u2019t recall one above the other, there\u2019s no standout. They fail to create a memorable connection with their visitors.<\/span><\/p>\n And that\u2019s before we start talking about all the extra functionality that websites can provide. From logged-in customer dashboards, to fully-fledged ecommerce features; Facebook pages don\u2019t touch websites for the variety of things they can do.<\/span><\/p>\n If you create a Facebook page, you don\u2019t own that creation: Facebook does.<\/span><\/p>\n Your content\u2014whether it\u2019s your posts, photos, or customer interactions\u2014belongs to Facebook. It\u2019s not a sinister thing, but it does mean you\u2019re always at the mercy of their decisions. What if Facebook suddenly changes the rules or limits your ability to communicate with customers?<\/span><\/p>\n What if they pull a \u201cGoogle+\u201d on you? Many businesses poured time and effort into their Google+ profiles, only for the platform to shut down because it didn\u2019t work for Google.<\/span><\/p>\n On Facebook, it\u2019s like you\u2019re renting a space in someone else\u2019s caf\u00e9. What happens if the caf\u00e9 closes, or the menu changes? You\u2019re left with no control over your own space. Owning your website is like owning the caf\u00e9\u2014you\u2019re in charge of how it runs.<\/span><\/p>\n The risk is just too high. You need to own the caf\u00e9, not rent it from someone else.<\/span>\u00a0As Avinash Kaushik puts it<\/a>:<\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t own the domain, you don\u2019t own the customer data, you don\u2019t create\/own the rules, you can\u2019t influence changes, you don\u2019t have a say in how many characters you can type or how long your video can be or how much creativity you can express. You play by their rules, after all you are just renting.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n A website gives businesses the freedom to truly own their online space, to shape their brand experience, and to offer customers a deeper, more personalised journey.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n With a website, you have full control over your content, design, and functionality. You\u2019re not competing with viral posts, and you\u2019re not limited by Facebook\u2019s rules. Unlike Facebook, your website is a space where you can build your brand for the long haul, not just for the next few seconds in a newsfeed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n When your business posts on Facebook, do you know how many people see that post?<\/span><\/p>\n Less than 2% of the people that have \u2018liked\u2019 your Facebook page.<\/span><\/p>\n You read that right. Less than 2%.<\/span><\/p>\n A typical local business has around 500 likes. That means that each post is seen by at most 10 people.<\/span><\/p>\n All that effort to speak to 10 people! You\u2019d be better off walking the streets dressed in a sandwich board; many more would see your message.<\/span><\/p>\n On Facebook you need to \u2018pay to play\u2019. If you want more of the people who have liked your page to see your post, you need to get the credit card out. Facebook charges you to talk to people who, by liking your page, have already said they\u2019re happy to have that conversation.<\/span><\/p>\n Facebook owns the medium and they want you to pay to use it.<\/span><\/p>\n By contrast anyone who is on your website gets your message for nothing. Yes, you have to invest in marketing techniques to promote your site, but that money is an investment in building your brand. If you\u2019re paying to drive people to a Facebook page, you\u2019re investing in Facebook\u2019s brand.<\/span><\/p>\n Every time you do something great on Facebook, a part of the benefit goes to you, but a significant part goes to Facebook.<\/span><\/p>\n \u2018I saw that great thing on Facebook\u2019 is what people say. They don\u2019t say \u2018check out this brand\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\n This means that just a proportion of your efforts end up benefiting your brand, and the rest goes to Facebook. You\u2019ve helped make their environment a more appealing place for people to hang out. They\u2019re reaping what you sowed.<\/span><\/p>\n Or, to put it another way: if your business left Facebook, would anyone really care? Most of your customers wouldn\u2019t notice. They\u2019d move on to consume someone else\u2019s content.<\/span><\/p>\n Yet every hour you pour into your website will benefit your business. A great blog post, an updated design, a compelling image; all these create a lasting benefit to your brand.<\/span><\/p>\n Visitors will remember your name, and when they talk about your business they\u2019ll refer people to your website \u2014 not Facebook. You\u2019ll earn the benefit of the referral and maximise the chance to build on it.<\/span><\/p>\n Because Facebook is pay-to-play, you can\u2019t build a lasting communication channel to current and future customers. Every time you want to say something and to actually be heard, you need to dip your hand in your pocket.<\/span><\/p>\n By contrast, the effort you put into building your website will turn into organic, free marketing channels between you and your customers. If you create a compelling site or add a piece of great content, it\u2019s your website that will get shared online.<\/span><\/p>\n This in turn will lead to links from other sites, as those discovering you start to write about and link to your content. These shares and links are a valuable and lasting source of referral traffic to your site. On top of that, they\u2019re the backbone to your search engine optimisation strategy and will drive your website rankings ever higher.<\/span><\/p>\n Your website also opens up the opportunity to foster relationships on email. By capturing addresses, you can build an effective channel, likely to give you the highest ROI of all. And despite the rise of social, email remains the<\/span>\u00a0king of one-to-one marketing<\/a>. No channel will work as hard for as little.<\/span><\/p>\n And when paired with a professional custom email address<\/a>, you can build trust and credibility, and make every interaction feel more official. It\u2019s a simple but powerful way to build lasting relationships with customers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nWhen Facebook fails<\/h2>\n
The pros of getting your business on Facebook<\/h2>\n
Why having your own website beats Facebook<\/h2>\n
1. The freedom to create<\/h4>\n
2. The freedom to own that creation<\/h4>\n
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<\/a><\/p>\n3. The freedom to communicate<\/h4>\n
4. The freedom to benefit from your efforts<\/h4>\n
5. The freedom to build your own brand<\/h4>\n
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