Deleting your Facebook page is foolish

You know the saying, “You get what you pay for.” That's often true. In the case of businesses with Facebook pages, you're actually getting more than what you pay for, since – it's free! So why would you not only look a gift horse in the mouth, but shoot it? Yet some businesses are doing just that. It’s become the latest brag, trailing closely behind that fantastically annoying “I don’t even have a TV, never mind watch the drivel!” Let's lay it out: deleting your Facebook page is foolish. Despite occasional kinks and glitches, as well as controversial overhauls, “upgrades” and policy changes (like the recent “naming” debacle), Facebook remains by far the most popular social site on the internet. Unless you're paying a little extra for special promoted posts and increased visibility in your audience's News Feed (still a tough bargain to beat), you're still given access to a platform where you can promote your brand without being forced to fork over a cent. This is what's known in the industry – any industry – as “cost effective advertising.” Despite the exodus of some disgruntled companies disappointed in their Facebook page's statistical performance and authenticity of fans, Facebook is still the best deal in the social media universe – even better than Twitter, where the average user's attention span is even shorter than the 140 character limit (and the lifespan of a tweet a few minutes - and that’s being generous). Facebook is not only more-user friendly, it's more audience-accessible. Almost everyone you know, in nearly any age group or demographic, has a Facebook account that they check at least once in a while. It's become the easiest way for everyone to keep in touch with not just friends and family, but the world at large, including their favorite brands (and bands!). Chances are, if a consumer is aware of your company, they found you on Facebook while surfing for the services you offer. If they can't find your page (because it's gone or was never there), they'll definitely find someone else providing the same product, and you lose a customer to an easier-to-locate, tech-savvier competitor. If your business can’t be bothered to maintain a Facebook page, most potential clients won’t think you’re cool or smart or anything positive – they just won’t consider you. At all. And let’s talk about the main reason why some businesses are ditching The Book – fake fans. Sure, some of your Facebook followers may be phony accounts set up as a spam screen – but they may also be legit consumers protecting their own personal identities. Not really your call to make. And why do you care if they’re converting? How silly. As a business, you can't really measure the “success” of your Facebook page by the number of likes, comments or other graphs that consultants often reference when deciding the validity of this ridiculously obvious option. You know it works when it works – and it always does. Big claim to make with no data? It’s intuitive, folks. If you REALLY think no potential client will EVER find you (either on purpose or not) on Facebook and result in a sale of some sort, then by all means – cut and run. But I promise you, you’re making a mistake. It costs you absolutely nothing to create and maintain a Facebook page – the time commitment to curate remotely interesting content is minimal to do yourself and extremely manageable for even small businesses to outsource - and not being there can pointlessly limit awareness of your existence. How short-sighted of you. Facebook is the new phone book, spanning Generations “B” (for Boomer) to “Z” (and where do we go from there now that we've exhausted the alphabet, by the way?). If you're not “listed” on Facebook, you may not be discovered at all, alternate forms of advertising aside. Facebook is the first – and oftentimes ONLY – social stop for many online participants. Good luck brewing that juice elsewhere. Two final points: Yes, your blog drives lots of traffic (way more than Facebook) – from people who already know about your blog/business and your mom’s friends. That referral pool is pretty small when compared to the potential on Facebook. Don't need people to purposely or suddenly discover you on Facebook? Swell. Buh-bye. Do I care if my fans are organic, engaged and fully fluffed or whatever? Nope! I care that people can easily find me - if only to scope out my business as part of their vetting process (and potential clients DO look for you there - ask them!). And for me, that's A-ok! Bottom line: those who delete can't compete. And have smelly feet. Image courtesy of Shutterstock.

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Deleting your Facebook page is foolish

Mary C. Long

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Mary C. Long