Facebook and Google are different platforms, yet each presents an avenue to many users.
When determining whether or not you will choose to open a Facebook page to represent your business concerns, consider that the average Facebook user is on the Facebook site for an average of four times more hours per month than on the top ranked Google site.
While Google actually has more hits and is visited far more times, the users are on for just brief periods of time. As of August this year (2011):
- Google was ranked the top site with more than 176 million unique visits in that month.
- The second most visited was Facebook with just 163 million unique visitors in the same month.
The time that was spent on each site, however, turns the tables upside down instead:
- The average person using Facebook spent about 7 hours and 45 minutes on the site in a month.
- Google’s visitors, however, spent only an average of 1 hour and 47 minutes on the site throughout the month.
Does this mean that Facebook presents more opportunity to solidify your brand with it’s users? Or would you be better off going with ads on Google?
The answer is probably both. Each does have a unique platform. They are definitely not the same and the users don’t utilize them in the same way. While the majority of Google users are searching for information, they end up on sites other than Google. Facebook users stay on the same site, but change the pages they visit within the site.
With Google ads you can show your business intent briefly to those who visit. It’s relatively low in costs, depending on your business and what you will pay to keep your ad on top. More obscure businesses tend to pay less for their ads as fewer people are competing for the space. It can be an effective way to advertise and Google certainly has enough viewers.
By creating a Facebook page for your business, you can attract viewers who are likely to click on your page when prompted through the large social network that is their ‘friends.’ When a ‘friend’ on Facebook ‘likes’ your business, it’s like an endorsement or a word of mouth advertisement.
As it was even in the days of old, word of mouth referral business is like gold. It is a very solid way to get your brand out there and recognized. Recognition is half the battle when building a business presence.
