"75% of consumers judge a company’s credibility based on its website (or lack thereof)."
Social media marketing is a great way to increase your reach, engage with your customers, and gain new customers. It's not only necessary in today's online world, but extremely helpful--where companies used to have to spend hundreds of dollars to put advertisements in newspapers, now it's as easy as a click and a post. For free! It's so easy, in fact, that many businesses have eschewed having a business website for using a Facebook Business Page. This isn't an effective business practice, and can cause you to lose a lot of potential customers. Below, I explain the reasons why Facebook Business Pages cannot replace a website, and if used as such, can really damage your bottom line.
Functionality
You can do a lot with a Facebook page— but outside of being able to communicate directly with followers, it's functionality is more on par with a Yelp profile than a full-fledged website. Blogs, restaurant menus, in-depth services pages, online stores, and more are only possible with a website.
Consumer Trust
A Facebook page with a lot of followers and good reviews is great, and definitely a plus. But 47% of consumers use the company's website, not Facebook, to decide whether to make a purchase. And 70% of consumers on Facebook visit a company's website after looking at their Facebook page.
Reputation and Uniqueness
On Facebook, every profile looks the same, so it is very hard to get across to consumers what makes your brand special. For instance, let's say that you are going to a fancy restaurant in Scottsdale, Arizona for a special occasion. This Facebook page will probably make you feel pretty good about this restaurant:
But this website will seal the deal:
So, yes, Facebook business pages are an important part of your social media strategy, and a great way to market your services and get more reviews and customer engagement. But they are not a replacement for a website—your online presence and marketing strategy must be multi-faceted in order to help your business thrive.