Facebook page vs Website

Website vs Facebook Page?

You are ready to venture on the web and are looking for the best possible strategy. You have two options in front of you- both equally tempting-

So what should you go ahead with? A website or a facebook page?

Lets measure the pros and cons of each-

Team Website-

Pros-

1. Fully customizable- 

Do whatever you want, host a game, use gesture control plugins, create sexy layouts and animations and sell stuff. Its all there- possibilities are only limited by your creativity.

2. Reach-

There are 2.4 bn people on the net worldwide, all of them do access websites- so you can effectively reach everyone.

3. Discoverability-

Your website can appear on search results, blogs, reviews etc. You are not only reaching out to more and more people, you are also reaching them better.

4. Brand Image and Credibility-

A website is definitely a better sign of credibility for your brand and company. It shows you are serious to reach out to your consumers in a more customized and brand friendly way.

5. You own the content-

Website is where you have full control, what goes up there has been reviewed by you over and over again. 

Cons-

1. Takes time-

Building a website isn't as simple as an FB page. You need to design everything from scratch to create your own layout, content etc.

2. Updating-

Keeping your content up to date would require constant changes and reviews, you might have to employ people and resources to maintain the website.

3. SEO-

Making a website isnt enough, you would need to invest time and money to make it discoverable through SEO and paid advertising.

Team Facebook page-

Pros-

1. Audience-

There are real people with an indepth historical data of their interests which they have volunteered to give to the world. You can monitor those people and derive millions of inferences. Truly a marketeer's delight!

2. Simplicity-

You can create a FB page in a minute. All you need is a desired page name and some images for your brand (not compulsory again). And its free!

3. Updating-

Simply post and your fans will see your message. Its easy and realtime without any real resources.

4. Interaction-

Reiterating on my first pro- there is real time interaction going on with your fans here- you get to know what they want, when they want and how they want it. There is real time feedback on your products and services too.

Cons-

1. Openness & brand safety-

There is just too much going on there, anyone can write anything on your fb page for the world to see. e.g. - if the fairness cream dosent work its very easy for Ajay to write on your fb page - "Your brand sucks" and your 2 million fan base will see it. If you delete the post, he might repost saying- "You deleted my earlier post". You'd rather stay away from FB in that case. Its known that people give more negative feedback rather than positive.

2. Boring layout-

You can't really do much on FB. Its not a site owned by you and hence you have no real control even if you feel FB layout is boring.

3. Concept not established-

We dont really know what people are looking for when they "like" your FB page or post. Do they like the brand? do they like the post? are they gonna buy stuff from you? Does it impact awareness, consideration or purchase? No one has an answer.

Okay, so now you know pros and cons- how can you have a wholesome digital strategy- The answer dosent really lie in picking one over the other. Simply put- You need both but if I have to pick one, I'd chose a website for reasons highlighted earlier.

1. Create a website- 

Give it your best shot. Make it sexy and people will visit in hoards. What content to put?- You are the best judge. Make it discoverable- Use SEO, SEM, referrals- basically everything in your kitty to get it in shape. It might take time but the results are worth it. Invest right amount of time and resources for it is  your image in front of millions of people.

2. Create an FB page-

Understand your brand- Is it loved? Do people talk good about it? Will people like to talk to you? If yes- then go ahead and create that page. Put tonnes of engaging content and collect those likes and treat it is an extension of your website and your representation on social media. It really is very simple and free!

So the final verdict is - they both go hand in hand and not one over the other.

Cheers

Abhishek

Gesture controlled website by Kerala Tourism

Kerela Tourism- Way to go!

Kerela tourism came up with something really interesting- a gesture controlled website!

How it works?

1. You goto when-it-rains.com on your chrome browser and you'd see this-

2. Click on "Enter" and allow webcam permission when Chrome asks you for permission and there you are!- A website you can control through hand gestures- you can scroll through the pages- up, down, right and left using your hands as a signal. Try it out- its pretty neat!

The webcam picks up signals and gestures and the website operates.

While its a simple implementation of "gesture control technology", the possibilities of this are endless.

1. Imagine signaling your laptop to play the next track while lying down in your bed .
2. Move around and gesture your laptop to change slides while you make that important presentation.
3. Gesture through a YouTube playlist to find the right video.
4. and of course gaming- umpteen possibilities there.

Really excited to see this coming from Kerela tourism- this sure would give them a lot of PR.

Cheers
Abhishek

Digital Marketing- Nothing digital about it!

Digital Marketing- Nothing digital about it!

Very often I meet people (brands/companies) who are really buoyed about "innovating on digital", "trying something new", "experimenting on digital" and so on and so forth. Its really encouraging to see people all set to go and take a leap into this dynamic and ever so changing world of digital marketing.

But the question still lingers in my mind- is digital marketing really about digital or is it about marketing? To answer this question one has to clear his/her mind and put oneself in the shoes of the people we are doing all this for- not you, not me, not your boss (or my boss) but for the people who pay for all of this- the end consumer. 

So what does a typical end consumer want? Does she want to look at your innovations? Does she want to see your ads? Does she want to look at why brand x is better than brand a,b,c? The answer in most cases is No. An end consumer has a need. The need can be to get entertained, to book a ticket, to buy a phone or to simply checkout the photo of her best friend in her social network.

As traditional marketeers, we are used to one way communication. Someone is watching a movie on their TV- shove an ad right there. Someone is reading the morning newspaper for expert comments on last night's cricket game- why not place an ad there! While the traditional mediums allow users with certain degree of freedom to ignore your message (switch channel, turn the page etc). Digital mediums come up with a unique challenges for marketeers- placing the end consumer above all else. Your end consumer can totally go around with her business and can be completely immune to your message, while you burn your money away to glory. But consider a scenario when you solve the need your end consumer has. The consumer will come running to you and you will reap rewards.

So today I am going to talk about the basics or should I call it Marketing- 101 (I am choosing to ignore "digital" consciously). Here is what you can do to cover the basics (or the 4Ps)-

1. Product-

What does your brand have to offer to the end consumer. Is it in-tune with what the consumer wants? Is there enough demand for your product/service online? Do you see the audience on the internet your suitable TG? If the answer to any of these questions is No, you might have to go back to basics and re-look at your offering.




2. Price-

Remember internet increases accessibility. You are discoverable in numerous ways you can and cannot control. You are visible and so are your competitors and alternatives. This gives the end consumer enough incentive to make a decision and often price plays an important factor in the consumers mind especially when differentiation is low/not visible. Hence, it is important to stay sharp- more than ever.

3. Promotion-

The average internet user is used to hundreds and thousands of ads. How many times we login to a website and see 20 banners in a single page? Do you remember any of them? They all are trying to drive one message- constantly trying to promote their product hoping to reach the right audience. Do you want to be the 21st banner on that page? I shouldn't even answer that! Reaching the right audience who are interested in your products and will be interested in it is very very important.

4. Placement-

Congratulations! Your 3Ps have worked. The consumer is looking for you hoping to find you and reward you. Can she reach out to you before your competition reaches out to her? Can she locate your website/social page/video destinations/twitter etc etc. If she can't I wouldn't even recommend any of the previous three Ps.

So its not really digital that I am talking about here, its just plain old marketing 101. Innovations can wait, basics can't.

Cheers,
Abhishek