Facebook bandwagon: to jump or not to jump?

Log on Facebook to see a mixed bag of businesses touting their goodies. Whether it is about showcasing an entirely new clothing line by a designer, a new service at a spa or customised confectionery, Facebook pages dedicated solely to the same flicker on ones news feed.
And the trend is neither local nor restricted to individuals trying their luck as entrepreneurs. Besides the new startups and small businesses, multinational companies and organisations around the globe are also actively seeking promotion through a personalised Facebook page.
The attractiveness of Facebook strictly with regards to businesses, is reverberating through the entire web marketing ecosystem where more and more companies are reluctant to spend big bucks on the developing and designing websites.
Even in the case of free websites, the favours like simplicity, a monstrous Facebook traffic ready to grow virally, and a good starting point without maintenance hassles are making a strong headway.
The case for branding on Facebook is even stronger: about 50 percent of the consumers think that a brand’s Facebook page is more useful than the brand’s website according to the insights by Infographics, a global data visualisation setup. As per the study, a good majority of Facebook users find it a good place to interact with brands, and 35 percent of them believe in better response by the brand on Facebook.
A major contributor behind users liking a brand’s page is the promotion and discounts. However, the study also sheds light on the uselessness of such ‘likes’ to the extent that almost half of the social media users do not intend to buy anything through these promotions; they either have expectations like free giveaways or just follow the herd.
To the opponents of the social media particularly Facebook versus website debate, the former is just like a local coffee shop where one hangs out with friends and those with similar interests. The never ending dispute does offer some insight over extra reliance on the Facebook. It runs the risks of loss of control, frequent changes and lack of professionalism.
However more holistically, the idea should be the coexistence of both. A multidimensional approach is ideal for a complete web presence. There is no denying of the benefits garnered through ecommerce Facebook pages especially for one-time promoters or when the website traffic is thinning out. So integrate and optimize!