PhotoBiz Magazine // Spring 2017

facebook
Your website also has a much larger footprint. You can
include dozens of pages, each with the potential to
show up in search results. So when a customer searches
“Jacksonville Photographers,” your beefed-up site will
win over Facebook every time.
FACEBOOK IS NOT
YOUR WEBSITE
Written by MITCH W.
Facebook is a powerful tool and you should use it to
promote your business. In fact, Facebook is ideal for:
• Announcing sales
• Building an audience
• Sharing blogs and images
• Giving day-to-day updates
But it only goes so far. Social media is just that – social.
It’s a tool for chatting with clients and sharing photos. It is
not for running your whole business.
You need a dedicated web presence to present yourself as
a professional who cares about your business. And there
are many ways your website represents you better than
Facebook alone.
Reaching the Largest Network
Facebook isn’t going to reach your entire market the way
search engines will. This is for a couple of reasons.
First, not everyone is on Facebook. Your website, however,
is indexed by Google and Bing. That means you’re not
just reaching Facebook’s audience, you’re reaching the
entire world via search.
Last, your website is permanent. On Facebook, new
content pushes down old posts. Things get lost in the
shuffle. On a website you control, nothing is going to just
change without you knowing… and you’re not competing
for attention with random dog videos!
Building Your Brand
A beautiful website can solidify your brand, embody your
style and showcase your work like no Facebook page
ever could.
You have almost no control over the way your Facebook
page looks and behaves. You’re locked into Facebook’s
design with little room for personalization.
Your website allows you the freedom to design a space that
puts your best foot forward and caters directly to your clients.
Flexible Form and Function
Facebook’s functionality is limited and changes without
warning. You may spend hours building your Facebook
page, only to have them launch an update that wipes out
your hard work.
Your own website is flexible and customizable. You’re not
beholden to the whims of an external platform.
Plus, your own website offers tools your Facebook page
never will. You can collect and save customer information
more effectively and sell products or services right on
your site.
Tracking Your Visits
Facebook provides limited information about who visits your page and what they interact
with. When you install (free!) Google Analytics on your website, you can track detailed
information about your visitors and your site’s performance.
The insights you get here go leagues beyond what Facebook offers. Armed with this
information, you’ll know what areas of your business get the most attention and where
you need to focus more energy.
“When I see a photographer who just has a
Facebook page, I just have to stop them
and say, ‘A Facebook page is not a website!’”
– Sarah Petty, Pro Photographer
28 PHOTOBIZ MAGAZINE