{"id":14309,"date":"2011-01-11T03:20:00","date_gmt":"2011-01-11T01:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mamchenkov.net\/wordpress\/?p=14309"},"modified":"2011-01-11T03:20:00","modified_gmt":"2011-01-11T01:20:00","slug":"are-facebook-pages-killing-the-corporate-web-site","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mamchenkov.net\/wordpress\/2011\/01\/11\/are-facebook-pages-killing-the-corporate-web-site\/","title":{"rendered":"Are Facebook Pages Killing the Corporate Web Site?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I came across this blog post<\/a> asking the question of whether Facebook Pages are killing the corporate web sites. \u00a0Just by coincidence, I’ve been thinking about this for the last few days. \u00a0And not only thinking, but discussing it with other people and collecting their ideas, feedback, and data.<\/p>\n

With a question like this its easy to fall into an extremist black and white view of the world. \u00a0But an answer in the middle isn’t quite as interesting as an answer from either side of the debate. \u00a0In my personal opinion, the answer is more yes than no. \u00a0Let me now explain.<\/p>\n

Corporate web presence is increasingly important. \u00a0It is so important in fact that today it’s almost a requirement. \u00a0Web site is one of those first things a company needs to do, together with the office, logo, and business cards. \u00a0Yes, I am aware of the fact that not every company needs an office, or a logo, or business cards, or even a web site, but these are minority and more of an exception rather than a rule, so I’ll ignore them for now.<\/p>\n

But as much as web publishing technology developed and improved these years, it’s nowhere near the accessible level. \u00a0Take for a example a brand new company. \u00a0And let it, for the sake of the example, be a small business. \u00a0A store, or a small services company. \u00a0At the stage where we are now, the company basically has these routes to establish its web presence:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Employ a web design\/development company to create the website. \u00a0There are a lot of variables here, but from what I’ve seen and heard around, such an option would cost somewhere around 700-3,000 EUR. \u00a0It will also take somewhere between 1 week and 3 month to be completed. \u00a0And then there will be maintenance\/hosting\/support charges ranging between 50-500 EUR a year. \u00a0Roughly, of course.<\/li>\n
  2. DIY. \u00a0Either one of the company owners will create a website in MS Word and upload it to his ISP hosting folder. \u00a0Or a there would be somebody technical, somebody from the IT department, who will be able to find some cheap hosting, buy domain, install an open source CMS together with some free themes and plugins. \u00a0Even though cheaper and probably faster for the company, this will end up being a one-time job and soon nobody will remember who is supposed to update the web site and how to even get to the administration.<\/li>\n
  3. Follow the white rabbit. \u00a0As much as I wish for this option to be a free blog over at WordPress.com, the reality of the situation suggests that it’s more likely to be a Facebook Page. \u00a0Free, fast and with no\u00a0hassle.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Larger, richer companies have resources to invest into a proper web site, which would be maintained and updated, as well as constantly promoted. \u00a0However many smaller companies simply can’t afford the option. \u00a0And for them Facebook pages work surprisingly well.<\/p>\n

    In fact, I’ve spoken with a few local people who use Facebook pages to promote their business, services, and products. \u00a0And most of them are very satisfied by this option. \u00a0The outcomes vary, of course. \u00a0Some people said that Facebook doesn’t help them at all. \u00a0But they don’t mind since they spent only a few minutes setting up the page. \u00a0Others are much happier. \u00a0Two people in particular told me that they even had their own websites before, but those were a waste of time, since nobody ever visited them. \u00a0But on Facebook they managed to capture their audience and now they have larger client base and its much easier for them to keep everyone in the loop on stock updates, as well as to collect feedback.<\/p>\n

    I think that this last bit is particularly important. \u00a0It’s not about how much time or money you can invest. \u00a0But whether you can break through and reach your potential audience. \u00a0And somehow Facebook pages seem to be doing it better than standalone corporate website. \u00a0At least for some types of businesses. \u00a0And if it goes this way, I think more and more companies will start downgrading corporate websites from top priority to an item of lesser importance. \u00a0 After all, it’s never too late to start with your own website, but if you can survive for some time without it, and save money and time – why not?<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\n

    I came across this blog post asking the question of whether Facebook Pages are killing the corporate web sites. \u00a0Just by coincidence, I’ve been thinking about this for the last few days. \u00a0And not only thinking, but discussing it with other people and collecting their ideas, feedback, and data. With a question like this its … Continue reading Are Facebook Pages Killing the Corporate Web Site?<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1,62,1334],"tags":[2271,3141,1157],"keyring_services":[],"class_list":["post-14309","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general","category-technology","category-web-work","tag-facebook","tag-postaday","tag-web-design"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":42789,"url":"https:\/\/mamchenkov.net\/wordpress\/2019\/07\/10\/alleotech-ltd-comes-alive\/","url_meta":{"origin":14309,"position":0},"title":"AlleoTech Ltd comes alive!","author":"Leonid Mamchenkov","date":"July 10, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Since I left my previous CTO position at Qobo Ltd back in February, a lot of you were asking me what's next and what am I up to. 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