by John Miranda


Certainly internet websites have there place.

By having your own website, you can pretty much do anything you want as YOU and only YOU can 100% control it. However, they are too costly. Besides having a web page by itself DOESN'T bring you any website traffic. You should exhaust all the strategies needed to direct traffic to your site.

If you are a start-up, Facebook is the way to go.

With Facebook, directing traffic is as simple as letting your targeted audience that you have a page and by the time the "LIKE" the page, you can start having a discussion with them. Meanwhile, if you send them to your website, there is a possibility that they may never come back.

Because of the ability to develop relationships, Facebook is better. Then consider the cost factor, Facebook is FREE by the way and you have yourself the killer combination.

Lately, you may have heard stories about website owners completely abandoning their websites in favor of a Facebook Page. Before ditching anything, we ask you to weigh your options carefully. To make you have a better understanding in that matter, we will do our best to list down the details, issues, and facts about these internet tools by asking each and every site and Facebook page owners should remember to ask themselves firstly while crucially deciding on it.

Purpose- What is the primary objective of your presence online?

A lot of people have this belief that Facebook Pages are created only for commercial entities. If you are one of these people who thinks the same way, we have to admit and tell you that you got it all wrong.

Facebook Pages also can be used by artists, public figures or communities (to which a custom facebook page belongs) aside from products, brands, and companies. The church are primarily engage in on-line ventures to get connected to more people and at the same time reach out and extend its mission field. If you still are a little bit clueless about how Facebook Pages work, a great example is the Facebook Page for Enchantment (a book authored by Guy Kawasaki) that was produced to endorse the book as well as its message.

Time - How much time are you willing to devote ti this goal?

Anybody who has an expertise putting-up a website can admit that it takes a lot of time before it can be considered usable. It requires hands-on management, from selecting themes/designs to configuring it with the host/server. Of course there are prepared templates that can be employed, but still, if you are not "techie", you will need to get somebody to set the web pages up for you as well as preserve them. On the other hand, Facebook pages are pre-designed and just need to be set up appropriately not needing any special computer skills nor to hire a server/host making them almost maintenance free. Posting is simple and fast with Facebook, you can dessiminate your post on the fly.

Cost - How much are you willing to spend for this mission?

Facebook Pages are No cost and Websites can be pricey. Although there are hostings, website templates, plug-ins that are being offered free on the internet, you can not use freebies if you really want to stand-out among the millions of websites online.

Functionality - What features or attributes do you want on your Page? Since Facebook pages are free of charge, there are understandably limitations such as having a maximum number of followers and message sending functions. Websites on the other hand are very flexible and versatile as long as you shell out for such features. But for the most basic social media requirements like posting, liking, commenting, and sharing, Facebook pages' built-in features are sufficient enough to assist you meet your objective.

Viral - How quick would you want to dessiminate your message?

Unless promoted extensively, a website would not achieve high traffic or page visitors on its own while on the other hand by being backed-up with millions of users daily, Facebook pages naturally would have better engagement with less intervention from the administrator.

Audience - Who are your targeted audience?

Websites and Facebook pages are both easily accessible. Then what's the difference? Facebook Pages owners have control over whom they would like to make a correlation with. Additionally, they can also decide on which information that they would allow non-followers to have access to. The greatest thing about knowing how to create a like page on facebook is that its ability to allow a two-way interaction between the the followers and the page itself. Website owners would not have any idea on who visits thier sites and what these people do while logged on to their sit unless they use some analytic tools. On a positive note, website does not require visitors to sign-up or "like" as in Facebook.

Staying Power - How long do you plan to do this?

One of the growing concerns of Facebook Page owners is "will I always have a page on Facebook?" Owing to the volatile online environment, these owners are worried that Facebook may suddenly die or discontinue. Regarding this matter, websites get the advantage since there is no expiration to be bothered about for as long as you pay the bill for the site.

Both platforms have their own pros and cons. While websites are fully flexible and customizable based on its owners' specifications, budget and desires, those do not guarantee traffic and better engagement. Facebook Pages are Free, albeit its limitations, its 500 million plus users is enough reason for you trust this network. You still have the final decision on which platform can really serve you the best.




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