Are you trying to sell on Facebook, but losing sales because your posts are slipping down the Facebook page(s) and out of sight as other posts are added?

If you have your own Facebook page, have you considered what might happen when Facebook changes its rules or the way their site works? This has happened before and it will happen again.

If you have a range of 2 or 3 items to sell and you are selling on Facebook, that may work for you. But if you have more than a few, then you need an online shop to manage and sell your products while using Facebook to drive traffic to your store.

A dedicated website presents a professional image and is far more powerful than a Facebook page. You should not use Facebook alone. Facebook should be supplemental to your website. Why? Here are just a few of many reasons:

• You have no control over Facebook. It’s a ‘free’ service that they provide for you to use at their pleasure. And they will do whatever they want, whenever they want, with your presence on their site. Facebook is a constantly evolving, social website and the service that they provide could be changed, taken away, or be the subject of a number of other undesirable events at any time. Without notice! You do not own your Facebook page – but you do own your online store/website.
• You should not place your online business presence into the care of an entity over which you have NO control whatsoever.
• You grant Facebook the right to do absolutely anything they wish with absolutely everything you put on Facebook – even to the point that you waive your rights over any intellectual property that you own (read their Terms!)  Scary eh?
• Understand that your website brands you, but your Facebook page brands Facebook. Your colours, your style, your logo – you can customize absolutely everything on your website to suit your brand. Facebook does allow some customisation of pages and images, but overall the site still looks like Facebook. It does not properly represent you.
• People searching the web for your store or your products will NOT easily find what they’re looking for on Facebook. And if visitors have to search, they’ll very often just go somewhere easier.

We are not anti-Facebook. Used correctly, Facebook can be a fantastic tool to help grow your brand and your business, but its real power lies in the way that it can complement your standalone web presence.