I am always asked the question “Do I need to get on Facebook” by business owners. The question is stirred for many reasons, the most common are;
- Over zealous marketers will claim that Facebook is your path to success (or the lack of a Facebook presence is the path to failure).
- Search engine experts will claim that you must have a Facebook profile to rank high in any search engine.
The catch 22 is that both statements are both true and false.
A presence on Facebook is important. It gives customers another way to learn about you, contact you and most importantly it gives you a way to keep your business fresh in their minds by posting specials and useful information. People who like you can also inspire friends to visit you to encourage the viral effect. The problem is that it takes work, thought and planning. For the sole proprietor who already works 16+ hours a day with no one to pass updates off to, this will just look like for more thing to add to the list and Facebook is full of profiles that were started and never updated (guilty here…). If you don’t have time to plan and update, the profile can be more of a deterrence then a boost to your business.
Anyone who has tried to expand their business on the web will know of all conflicting information out their concerning search engine dos and don’ts. In a nutshell, Facebook is good for search engines but not like it once was. Google (the premier search engine) used to spider Facebook thoroughly, making Facebook important for search engines. Facebook has since partnered with Bing so Google no longer has access to much. Google+ however is very good for search engines since Google owns it. It won’t hurt you to have a Facebook profile, it may even help your rankings in Bing and a little in Google, but don’t count on it to be the pathway to success.
What do I do now?
The best thing you can do is sit down and decide what you want to accomplish, what it will take to complete the tasks and then decide if you have the time and/or abilities. If you just want better rankings in Google then look to Google+ instead. You don’t need to post every hour and you can repeat posts occasionally. It wouldn’t hurt to ask your customers if they would like to see you on Facebook and what they would like to see.
As always, if you need help visit our site at Servator Web Design for information.