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Facebook vs Web Traffic
Some companies are rethinking their web presence in light of new evidence.
It may seem counter-intuitive for corporate mavens who don’t spend their days endlessly interacting with the morass of players in the social media torrent, but many companies and organizations are beginning to reconsider the wisdom of having a dedicated website. The logic is to communicate in a more interactive way with today’s networked audiences around the world—like those blogging Egypt’s revolution or documenting Syrian unrest on YouTube.
Just last month for example, the U.S. State Department announced that it was shutting down www.America.gov, a website they launched to provide cultural and policy content to the world. Instead, they will focus on using social media to get their message out there.
Shutting down your website to communicate solely through social media channels might seem like a crazy idea for any large organization, however, there is some logic to it. For example, The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Starbucks receives more than ten times the traffic to its Facebook page (19.4 million unique visitors each month) than its corporate website (1.8 million).
It wasn’t all that long ago, that a corporate website was a “must-have” communication tool. But now, as web users are increasingly spending time on social media, traffic to static corporate websites appears to be on the decline. But before you quit paying the hosting bill on your own web site, it may be a good idea to consider the benefits of each approach. Sure, social media allows for optimal interactivity, and it is certainly where many, if not most people spend their time online. And, as a quick communications tool, it is hard to beat the ease at which social media allows for connectivity and sharing; but there are some limitations.
There are many benefits to having a dedicated website. You have control of the design, for example, and you don’t have to share the space with potentially unflattering or unexpected content, the way you might with a social media platform—and the design options on some social media venues leave much to be desired. With a dedicated site, you can control and own the data. Plus, it can be an important way for you to acquire a proprietary database of customers and prospects. That isn’t the case with social media.
And let’s not forget of course, that if you are a content-driven enterprise and you make much of your revenue from leveraging advertising relationships or affiliate relationships, your value cannot afford to be diluted. The best tactic may well be a carefully orchestrated combination of a dynamic site AND social media.
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