Has Facebook taken over the internet? It sure seems like it sometimes. That’s where people hang out. That’s where businesses do much of their marketing. I even know of several churches and businesses that don’t have websites; just Facebook pages. And why not? A Facebook page is a great tool to communicate with members as well as make new connections with people in your community. With so much happening on Facebook, does your church or business really need a website anymore?
Well, it really depends on what you want to do online. Facebook can do a lot. It’s great for a simple informative page. It’s great for making personal connections with customers and the people you serve. You can even run promotions! But Facebook can’t do everything.
One of the most important and frequently updated parts of my church website is something that Facebook currently doesn’t allow for at all: sermon audio. Facebook has a place for status updates, photos, videos, events…but no place for user uploaded audio.
Facebook also doesn’t allow for taking online orders. If you’re trying to sell a product of some kind, Facebook is great for promoting the product, but worthless in actually making sales. You need some sort of online form on your website to complete the sale.
Also, even though it might seem like it sometimes, not everybody is on Facebook. If you don’t having a dedicated website, you’re invisible to a great number of people online who are searching for your church or business.
As they currently are, I’d say that having both a Facebook Page and website are still necessary. Each excels at particular things, and neither is comprehensive in doing everything that you could be doing online.
So my advice: have a website, and be on Facebook. Problem solved!