Lately, I’ve been noticing an interesting trend among local restaurants and haunts across the Twin Cities: They’re trading in their Web site for a Facebook page. In some cases, these restaurants aren’t even bothering with a site–they’re going straight to Facebook.
The benefits of this strategy are clear:
* Easy to set up (it takes, what, about 15 minutes to send up a brand page on Facebook?)
* No up-front cost. Not unless you’re paying a “social media expert” $10,000 to set one up (Note: If you’re doing this, get out now. While you still can.)
* Opportunity to build awareness and momentum quickly (a new restaurant in my hood, The Lowbrow, just opened two weeks ago and already has 296 “fans.”
No brainer then, right? Not so fast. There are also a few downsides to this approach. Among them:
* Lack of control. If you’re hosting your primary Web presence on Facebook you need to go in eyes wide-open that Mark Zuckerberg now controls your Web site. And, he can (and has) change(d) the rules whenever he likes.
* Pass-along value. As much as Facebook represents an opportunity for restaurants to spread word-of-mouth quickly in a positive way, it also means negativity can spread just as fast. Someone saw a rodent scooting across the floor of your restaurant? All it takes is one post on your wall and that’s going to get around fast.
So there are viable pros and cons to this approach, right? In my mind, after weighing those, it comes down to your appetite for risk. And whether that risk is worth it. If I’m the owner of a smaller restaurant (not a chain), I really like the idea of using Facebook as your primary Web presence. Here’s why:
* Maintain top-of-mind awareness with customers. Because you’re updating regularly on Facebook, you’ll stay more current and top-of-mind with loyal customers–those who can recommend your haunt to friends and family easily.
* Easy-to-read menus. By far my biggest beef with restaurant Web sites is their innane insistence on posting menus via PDF. It requires extra work on the users part and aren’t easily scannable on mobile devices. On Facebook, you could post menus via a Status Update (check out how Minneapolis-based Travail handles this) or using a custom tab–all of which would be easy to find and scan.
* Mobile friendly. Just by nature of its platform, Facebook plays much nicer with mobile devices than certain Web platforms do (think of Flash sites–Yuck!). Why is this important? Think about how many restaurant decisions get made on the fly by people when they’re out and about? Gotta be a big percentage, right? If your Web site has Flash or is difficult to download, you’re effectively telling your customers that you don’t care. By making it that hard for them to access your site, you’re telling them they don’t matter.
* Maximize limited resources. Sure, a restaurant could build a Web site and a Facebook page. Wouldn’t be that tough. But, Web sites cost money. And, what are restaurant owners typically short on? You guessed it. Plus, why not take the money you were going to invest in a Web site ($10-20,000+?) and spend it on more strategic marketing advice from a professional? I know this is a bit self-serving coming from me, but I don’t have a single restaurant client and truth be told, I’m not sure I would want one. I’m really just making a larger point: Use your limited resources where you’re going to get the most bang for your buck.
The Facebook-as-a-Web site strategy makes even more sense when you think about the other sites that could complement this approach. Specifically I’m thinking about Yelp and UrbanSpoon here, but there are others. Using Facebook, you could implement a strategy where you’re regularly asking for reviews from your loyal customers on these sites. All producing even more valuable SEO for your restaurant.
So, what do you think about restaurants using Facebook as their primary Web site? Good idea? Or, pure craziness? (I thought this snippet from Travail’s Facebook page sums up the discussion for me quite well)
Well, I think anyone using Facebook as a primary website is crazy!! Also, $10-$20,000 for a website is a huge price tag. There are many more cost effective. Someone just tweeted prior to my reading this that they are not too sure they like the new fan page layout, and pointed out again that they don’t own it, Facebook does!
Most people who are going the strictly Facebook route are not really exploring their web development options. Flash is all but dead, and you dont need PDF menu’s. Perhaps instead of relying solely on Facebook efforts could be made to locate reputable developers and designers. A restaurant website doesnt need a price tag anywhere near $10,000 for a new establishment or one with a limited budget, and it can still be a great site that you control!
I have to agree with Jennifer here. Swapping your website for a Facebook page is absurd. It’s like building a house on rented land.
There are tools and platforms out there that allow you to build an awesome website on the super cheap (e.g., Squarespace.com). Your own site give you much more opportunity to drive search engine traffic to your business, not to mention advantages in branding, security, and reporting/analysis.
I understand that Facebook is an easy, viable option for those with limited budgets, but I strongly believe that a website is one of the core, not optional investments for any business that wants to be found online.
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Josh Braaten and AdamGraySocialMedia, Jennifer Devitt. Jennifer Devitt said: I dont think it should be anyones primary site! RT @arikhanson: Can Facebook serve as your restaurant's primary Web site? http://j.mp/g6lupY […]
There’s also an underlying issue that for a place or a restaurant, Google in particular will never consider a social media page the ‘top’ response for a query over an official website.
Matt McGee did a really good piece on this yesterday mentioning realtors, but it really does apply to restaurants as well: http://www.smallbusinesssem.com/do-not-follow-this-social-media-advice/4030/
The key idea in it is that you should spend your core effort on something you own and control, and use social media to promote THAT. His examples of MySpace and AOL are spot-on.
I’ve seen several restaurants do an excellent job building web sites using basic blogging platforms like WordPress.com or Blogger with stock templates, although I have had to have discussions with several about making the $25 investment to have it resolve to its own domain and not subdomain.host.com.
Believe me, I’m not the biggest proponent of developing your primary space off-domain, but for some folks I do think it makes sense. OK, so it might not cost them 10-20K, but it will be a substantial cost for them. And, it’s not as easy to find a reputable developer as you might think. I’ve tried. And, been burned. And, I feel like I know what to look for–what about those who *don’t* know what to look for. Like I said in the post, I know there are risks, but for some restaurants (not all), I think it can be a risk worth taking. Thanks for weighing in, Jennifer!
You and your Squarespace 🙂 Sure, Squarespace would work, but they’d still have to pay someone to set it up, design it AND maintain it. They wouldn’t have those issues with Facebook. I know about the risks–I just think it’s a viable option for some restaurants (again, not all) that just have no budget/time. Agree to disagree on this one, huh?
Completely agree about orgs hosting sites off-domain. It’s one of the reasons I recommended a NFP client of mine build their new site on WP last year. And, it worked wonderfully. But, here’s the thing. that NFP client now still has to maintain the site, right? That’s a part-time job for someone (restaurants don’t have that luxury). The site might get hacked and they’d need a developer to assist. All of this would cost money. I’m not saying the Facebook approach is the best route, but like I said, for some restaurants, it can be worth it.
Of course we can agree to disagree. Even though I have a strong opinion on this one, I’m certainly willing to believe that I could be wrong. 🙂
While I agree there are those who dont know what to look for in a developer, should the automatic action be to go to Facebook then? This is for their business, doing some homework, checking some references should help point them in the right direction. Firms like yours having lists of developers to refer is a huge added value services to their clients!
I like Josh’s analogy of building on rented land, as well as Julie’s points on Google & SEO.
As for finding a reputable developer, if you are ever in need, please feel free to reach out. Our specialty is working with digital agencies, marketing firms & pr firms. We can easily work within clients budgets to give them something better than Facebook!
Neither of us is wrong. Just one of those gray areas that lends itself so well to blog posts and commentaries like this 🙂
Bad idea. Sure, you can put more of your daily efforts into Facebook, but you NEED a home on the web that you control (ie a website). Facebook can decide to delete Pages tomorrow if it really wants too…. We have no control.
Plus, as was mention, a webpage will show up quicker in searches. Plus, what if you have some potential customers that aren’t on Facebook or don’t use it often or don’t pay attention to Pages there?
When I have trouble finding solid restaurant info on the web in under 30 seconds, I head to facebook and search there. Web is certainly best for hosting and control, but a strong facebook presence can help bring folks in, too. Thanks Arik!
Facebook can get hacked, too, though, and also needs to be maintained.
True, but updating and “maintaining” it isn’t quite as hard as with a blog. You’re right though–Facebook can get hacked just like any other platform, so that’s probably a wash. Maybe I don’t have a leg to stand on here 😉
Hi Arik,
I really enjoy your perspective on things and quickly becoming a fan of your blog. I have to agree with you and with Jennifer Devitt on this one. FB is AMAZING for restaurants, but to go it alone without a website is not going to be optimal.
I have a restaurant client and we use a combination of her website (nowhere near a $10K price tag), FB and Twitter to cover our bases. You’re right, relying solely on the website to engage is not effective and if you’re not careful, can push people away. When I was hired, my client had a rather raucous blog on her website that was in fact turning diners off, as well as a link to Urban Spoon (which is a fickle beast to put it mildly). Things like Urban Spoon and Yelp can be amazing, just like FB…but they are incredibly difficult to control. My philosophy on those sites (where everyone is a critic, but not everyone is a foodie or understands food) is check them regularly to see what people are saying, but not to provide a direct pathway to them with a link from the site.
Negative campaigns can be mounted and feedback/comments on any one of these sites can spread quickly – good and bad.
To basically take control of a situation in danger or erupting, the blog was removed and a careful campaign to build the fan base on FB was launched. The client was doing plenty in the way of charitable contributions and events, but none of it was publicized. That was put on the website and FB with updates Tweeted regularly, engaging community support for the cause and event, and sharpening their public image.
We primarily use her FB page for daily specials, event announcements and for fun conversations with patrons. We even used it to let her fans know we were going for a James Beard Foundation award. The support was overwhelming.
FB can be a buzz builder and a great tool for engagement that a website just can’t touch. However, we regularly direct people back to the website for content that supports the status update or we direct people to links that mention the restaurant – thanking the fans for helping get that coverage.
FB definitely keeps my client at the top of the list when people are wondering where to dine – perfect top of mind awareness. But, the big caveat here, is to maintain it and monitor it daily. We respond to every comment and make sure that any hint of negativity is dealt with quickly (thankfully, we’ve not had much of that!). And yes, FB may be fickle in it’s pages, usage, etc, but why not use it while you can and build that network – just make sure you’ve got somewhere else for the fans to go to should you not have it (website, blog, etc).
I think the potential for FB with restaurants hasn’t been fully utilized – thanks for posts like this one that an elevate the discussion.
Relying strictly on social media (or even resto review sites like I’ve heard before) to be your end-all be-all web presence is nuts. Its only part of an overall marketing plan. Sure you chat to (possibly) customers and post specials, but you can’t keep a finger on the pulse your brand reputation, see who’s finding or how and why. FB Insights can give valuable information, but not like analytics from a website. Sure you can brand up your FB page – but shocker – FB changes those parameters sporadically. You’ll spend time scrambling to keep up anyway – unless you only post on the wall and don’t use the other 90% of FB’s power to market your biz. Since your time IS valuable, why not hire a professional and get it done right the first time, and use social places to maintain your message? Leaving your marketing efforts in the hands of free social networking sites? Its fun and all, but you get what you pay for…
I’m hoping that one of the things that Facebook’s Page Redesign last week will show brands is how little control they have when building on Facebook. I doubt this will happen, but in the future Facebook could decide that Pages aren’t a good business move and delete them. What will brands do then?
Also, I don’t know if you saw the recent study that shows that people rely heavily on a brand’s website (not Facebook page) for information about the company and its products. http://otf.me/FNT
Facebook can tarnish your brand with one bad move on the privacy front, which they seem to risk often.
Putting all your activity on Facebook boosts their assets while leaving your pockets empty. Traffic & email signups are marketing gold, they’re brand currency.
Use Facebook to drive awareness. Use Facebook to turn friends into advocates for your brand and to enable them to tout it. By all means, however, drive that traffic back to your own site and equip your site to be your 24/7 marketing team. Collect email signups, track users and, in this business, make it dead simple for them to find your hours/location and read your menu.
Don’t overlook mobile! Grab new customers’ attention while they’re out and about in the neighborhood and HUNGRY. Put Mobile First.
None of this has to be difficult. See restaurantwebsitesthatwork.com
I agree with Julie in that a website should be the property that is owned and controlled. The comments also show that idea that a website is too hard to update and not very interactive is what many people think, but is false. Creating a WordPress site is easy and simple, takes very little time to learn, can be minimally cost invasive, and can have that feel of interaction through blog posts and comments to keep the content fresh and interesting.
Facebook and other Social Media tools are mainly for conversations and relying on them is certainly absurd. Even though the SE’s are crawling and indexing social media sites, I don’t see how they would be considered authority properties for a business. It also makes me think it’s a lazy way out to having a “website” and speaks to me that they aren’t interested in putting forth an effort to research how they can expand their online presence.
IYO, For which folks does it make sense? And the cost won’t be any more substantial than what their needs are. The website is their marketing hub and an investment that can actually make them money if done right. Also, your opinion that there are too few good designers is totally false.
It never ceases to amaze me what some suggest operators should be doing, when they have never owned or operated their own successful restaurant. Restaurants are not retail businesses and retail strategies don’t work. The website is their marketing hub and an investment that can actually make them money if done right. Are there really bad restaurant websites? Absolutely. But this doesn’t mean they should add themselves to an overcrowded platform with nothing to help differentiate themselves from the herd. Lastly, believe it or not, some restaurants have markets who are not using Facebook. Restaurants (and other bricks-n-mortar businesses) can’t build a successful online presence until they’ve first built a successful offline presence.
It’s a bad strategy, plain and simple.
Think of when Tumblr went down recently, and caused panic among users. Or the times that Facebook accounts have been hacked. Or WordPress.com removing full blogs because they broke terms of service. Or Vox closing down.
Any time you leave your property in the hands of third parties, you’re signing away your business. Think Facebook won’t change how business can use it? Or what they can promote?
Think Facebook will always be around? Maybe it will, but that’s no guarantee. Think their servers will always be reliable?
Sure, use Facebook as a key part of your overall web presence and marketing. But solely using Facebook? Don’t go crying to your customers when you lose the service, or they change their terms and leave you high and dry.
To the cost issue, Arik, unless you’re a whizz with Photoshop and HTML, you’re going to have to pay someone to design your custom Facebook Page. Which you still don’t own (look at the recent changes to Pages and how brands are wondering how this will effect them).
To me, I’d question the wisdom of any business relying solely on Facebook.
The only downside is that the Facebook page doesn’t appear very high in Google rankings. It was way down (the second last listing) on the page.
I’m not so sure most of the restaurants I’m thinking of would necessarily need a designed Facebook page. But, I get your larger point. The ownership angle is clearly the biggest issue and I think the recent Pages changes were a great example of why that’s such a risk.
Relying *solely* on Facebook is a bad beat–agreed. But, your point about hacking: Those hackers can still hack a hosted site, too. And when that happens, restaurants are left relying on developers to fix the problem (read: more moeny). So, I don’t see that issue as an open-and-shut case.
Wouldn’t it be more beneficial to have at least one tab customized though, Arik? How cool would it be to have an overview page of some specials, with a “Reserve Your Table – Click Here” call to action?
Take it one step further. Have a message only fans of the page get, that says “Like Us”, which then unveils a special URL. That takes you to a dedicated landing page (even a microsite as opposed to a full one) where you book your table and get an automatic free appetizer or drink when you book online.
There’s so much that could be done, but obviously the customization and complementary web support comes into it.
I’d rather pay a small monthly maintenance fee to keep my site secure (and sort when there are issues) than have a public hack along with 500 million other users, where my data could be lost forever. When compared to back-ups on web servers for company sites, I feel that makes the site option a safer one.
But if it does come down to monetary issues, you just need to ask how much you value your business. Premium (website and security) or free (where it could disappear tomorrow)?
I agree with you. Facebook is NOT a place where you should constantly be communicating “I have something to sell to you,” even on fan pages, or company pages. It’s a place where you help people to know, like and trust you and then, occasionally, link from your fan page to your website.
As for Facebook having complete control, you’re right. I spend a grueling 2 months trying to “find” my fan page after I kept getting complaints from people that it disappeared. They couldn’t find it. But I could. I wrote about the whole ugly mess at my blog at http://publicityhound.net/?p=7720, including 5 things to do if your fan page disappears.
[…] 8.Arik Hanson, Can Facebook serve as your restaurant’s primary website? […]
Here’s me showing up late to the party, as per usually.
I’d be VERY nervous about putting all my eggs in the Facebook basket. Yes, it’s a powerful tool, but what happens if people stop using Facebook one day (remember MySpace?)? And even if Facebook lasts forever, how will you get “Likers” to come back to your Page? Statistics show 70-80% of Facebook users NEVER return to a Page after they’ve hit the “Like” button.
What about users who AREN’T on Facebook? Despite Facebook’s gaudy numbers, there are still vast numbers of consumers who don’t use it. Where will those customers go for information about you? And what about the search engines? Is your Facebook Page popping up in Google searches for “Italian restaurant in Minneapolis?”
And email…are you collecting email addresses via Facebook? If not, how will you email customers to announce this weekend’s special, a new menu, or a second location? Sure, you could announce it via Facebook, but the news stream will push your update down, down, down pretty quickly. Email stays in an inbox until the customer retrieves it, but if your customer isn’t on Facebook the day you post your status update, they’ll miss it as it vanishes downstream.
Facebook should be a PIECE of your communications platform, not the whole thing. And if you’re two small to afford anything but a free Facebook Page today, you better start getting your ducks in a row to build a back-up plan before it’s too late.
“I have to agree with Jennifer here. Swapping your website for a Facebook page is absurd. It’s like building a house on rented land.” Going through a similar situation, my folks own the property our family owned restaurant sits on, but my aunt owns the building itself, now she not wanting to pass it on to me (which I gave up the past 21 yrs of my life under the understanding that it would be mine next) she won’t pay rent for the building to sit there and she won’t rent it to me,, it is a mess, your statement just made me laugh.. We are trying to figure out how to go about saving our establishment..
As with virtually all things, the answer is “It depends”. Lots of small restaurants just don’t have the wherewithal to design, develop, and maintain a useful website. I’ve seen some that were so basic they were almost worse than nothing at all, IMO.
I think any restaurant, whether a single location or a specific location of a chain, should give some serious thought to using Facebook, Yelp, Foursquare, Urbanspoon, etc. to not merely broadcast (which is essentially what a web site is) information, but to engage with their clientele in meaningful, constructive dialog.
As Sameer Patel said the other day in an Enterprise 2.0 virtual conference, “Your brand perception is now in the hands of strangers. Isn’t it time you got to know them?” Why on earth would you pass up a free way to do that, unless the time you spend to do it is prohibitive?
If I’m looking for a place to have dinner and interested in their specials I don’t think of finding restaurant websites. I go to Facebook where I have already clicked the “like” button of restaurants near me.
I get real time info including specials, events, and, if the restaurant is really with it, specials for “our Facebook friends.”
We all live in real-time and websites are far from that. Even if I did bother to go to individual restaurant websites how many update their specials on a daily basis? We all know the effort and money involved to do that.
So what Mark controls? He’s not going to make it difficult for businesses to advertise on his site, a site that is about to blow the roof off since the advertising is so tightly focused and therefore actually generates clicks.
What a delicious stream of discussion here. I’m *really* late to this party, but since the “Facebook and/or site” part of this discussion has died down, perhaps we can delve into another section of this same topic.
It absolutely drives me mad that, especially for restaurants, many seem to think that their websites are static. Put it up, check the SEO and that’s that. But it’s not.
As an example, one of my clients had no Facebook presence at all. The website was decent but just sitting there. So when we created a Facebook business page we experimented. I created a Valentine’s Day page and then slipped in matching graphics for a matching web page. Traffic to the site jumped after those on Facebook went to the site to view their menus and make reservations, and then they left reviews on Facebook. Good for all the world to see.
As far as the blog comment that many made, for restaurants that are not big chains, I think that’s a tough one to stick with. Even if a professional is hired to ghost-blog for a restaurant, how much can you say regularly? How frequently are others going to check in, read and, most importantly, comment? I see very, very few restaurants blogging and I actually understand why for this industry, it’s tough.
Would love to hear comments from this vocal bunch. Oh, and bravo to all of you who disagreed and debated in a very mature way. Very impressed that there was no ugly nonsense here. And hi five, Arik! Love this blog.
Oh, and another comment. Sorry.
Regarding reviews, I’m actually leaning toward believing that Facebook just may be THE best place for reviews.
I notice that many have accounts on Yelp, Urban Spoon, etc., but asking those that already follow and then actually check in from Facebook to leave their comments in several places can be quite annoying. Now I’m the type that if I enjoy a great meal, I’ll leave a review wherever I find the restaurant online. I did it recently for Wize Guys Pizza here in NJ. But I’m not going to copy and paste that review across the internet.
As I’ve said previously, it’s usually better (regarding social media in general) to funnel and then expand. Having 2 reviews here, 1 there, 6 over here doesn’t really cut it. If you have 9 or 10 in one place, that says a lot more. You can always ask that WHOLE bunch later to follow you elsewhere. But it’s much more difficult to herd cats when they’re all over the place.
So right now, I’m thinking Facebook reviews can be extremely powerful in getting maximum visibility for reviews for the mom and pop type local eateries.
http://www.nixonvs.com/blog/index.php/social-media-101-funnel-then-expand
Pardon, but I’ve got insomnia and a mad stream of thoughts as I take a break from working.
Yet another thought. Why is that restaurants seem somewhat slow to promote their online presence in-store? Quite a few of my clients that own restaurants (especially the more elegant ones) are almost adamant about *not* advertising to their in-house diners that they’re on Facebook, Twitter, etc. Where do they think the reviews will come from fastest? Their current loyal diners are their best advocates. Print it on the menus, on receipts, card on tables (tasteful, of course). Being shy with social media doesn’t cut it.
One restaurant I’ve visited and love actually posted a picture in the restaurant of their 200th Facebook follower and then posted the picture on the wall to Facebook. I thought it was a brilliant idea (with permission of the Facebook member). They made the customer feel like a star for a day and you know she shared that with everyone she knew on Facebook, too. Gave them legs in no time.
“Restaurants (and other bricks-n-mortar businesses) can’t build a successful online presence until they’ve first built a successful offline presence.”
Amen, Jeffrey. That speaks exactly to my point about promoting online presence in-store, too. Who’s most likely to be glad to post a review on Facebook, or a comment, or share the page with others than someone who is already a diner and already enjoys the establishment? Every single customer that walks into a restaurant and eats there should be made aware of its internet presence.
Too bad there isn’t a “really like” button I could click for this comment. Great point, Sue. What works on Facebook one day (especially regarding FBML) may not tomorrow (or even a few hours from now). It reminds me of the saying, “It’s a nice place to visit, but I wouldn’t wanna live there.”
[…] This isn’t the first time I’ve thought about an entirely distributed web presence, where you scrap your website in favor of an entirely social media presence. In fact, I first wrote about it almost exactly three years ago. And companies, typically agencies, have given this a try as well. I’m certainly not alone in talking about this. […]
[…] Can Facebook serve as your restaurant’s primary Web site? […]
Any advice on how to link a vanity domain name directly to a Facebook page? We’ve done a redirect at the registrar but it hits a facebook logo page that required viewers click “Go to Facebook” and we would like to bypass that. Thx.
This is really good post. Thanks for putting this
<a href=”http://rararchives.org”>rararchives</a>
I can help with menus, linking etc!! msqrd2