Fan Page or Website?

So, you're maybe launching a new campaign, maybe a product launch, something like that. You've limited budget and time, do you create a micro-site, a new Facebook fan page or section within your current site? I've faced this dilemma before and I came across this article from Guy Kawasaki, which I feel offers some valuable perspective from somebody like him, so I wanted to highlight it here. Summarised and commented below for you.

The most obvious reasons to not build a new web site or micro-site

1. We are too busy. New sites are a pain to get going. We need to interact and work with partners or other team members, it's not so straight forward as we'd like to think so needs weighing up
2. Slow process. It"€™s hard to make a website happen in just a few weeks, and your boss is already on your case
3. We're picky (and cheap!). The good news about a website is that you can make it do anything"€”so long as you pay for it. We want rich content and features to engage an audience with icing on top. You need to be willing to pay thousands of £'s
4. We need to be realistic. Once launched, building traffic is still "hand-to-hand combat" notes Kawasaki, it takes time, resources and money, see points 1, 2, and 3

A Facebook fan page offers immense value

1. Speed. You get immediate friends and a Facebook vanity username, you are up and running!
2. Functionality. Naturally, social networking functionality is inherent in Facebook: commentary, discussion, visitor posting of photos and videos, and reviews
3. Enough. Fan pages provide enough flexibility, you cannot go crazy, there are tabs and sub-tabs to play with. User expectation and the way Facebook works set you free!
4. Value. Facebook still has substantial flexibility. Choose from hundreds of apps to add functionality and if you need to get a developer to help custom code your page
5. Curation. On a general web site it"€™s much easier for anyone to paste trashy comments, photos and videos. Facebook is a relatively controlled environment.
6. Reach. The best part of Facebook is that there are, 400-500 million members - that's a lot of folks. Kawasaki notes it "is the holy grail of marketing: unconscious word-of-mouth advertising"
7. Gratification. Getting more fans is gratifying and a more accurate proxy for the quality of your fan page interactions
8. Free. All that, for free. Enough said

So, why build your own site instead of a fan page?

1. Do not support Facebook"€™s worldwide domination. Kawasaki comments, "€œIt"€™s not personal. It"€™s just business."€. I'd agree, there's always someone dominating or getting exploitative about something, whether that's Microsoft, Google, Coca-Cola, Nestle, or even local government. The question is does it help you, now
2. You do not want to rely on Facebook. It's a real risk but let's face it, Facebook is very unlikely to disappear or implode right away. Very unlikely. The same can also be said of other channels and platforms too. With a very long term view then Facebook"€™s longevity is a serious consideration.
3. You loosing the "SEO juice", the brand awareness, inbound links, etc. of your own website. True too but then it's about the net cost-benefit of each option vs the time you have to impact, it's about growning your business, not just about the KPI's - besides - hopefully you'll be integrating your Fan Page into a wider campaign

What should you do?

It's business, a degree of pragmatism is necessary. My take would be to go the Facebook route and integrate with a sub-section on your current site. Keep it simple, get early wins, prove the concept and grow it from there. Fingers crossed you get the quick results and before your know it - oh, a new campaign.