Online marketing – Don’t pin all your hopes on Facebook

This may come as a shock to some of you but not everyone has a Facebook profile. And believe it or not, some of us actually value our privacy.

There is nothing worse for me than visiting a site where the only way I can contribute to a conversation is to sign in with my Facebook account. I’ve seen e-commerce sites operate this policy and have happily taken my custom elsewhere.

Just because I purchase something from you does not mean I want my shopping experience linked to my Facebook profile.

In the last few years companies have relied more and more on Facebook fan pages and Like buttons to the point of obsession. The worst cases I have seen is where you are bullied into Liking someone’s Facebook page before you can access content on the site. This is because businesses are actually measuring their popularity by the amount of Facebook Likes. It’s crazy.

If I come across a site that bullies me in that way, there is nothing to prevent me from denting the company’s reputation by tweeting about this crazy practice. Facebook should never be a business’s only social media strategy. As I said, some of us value our privacy and some just hate Facebook and its ilk.

If you are just starting out in business or are about to review your online marketing strategy, I have one thing to say to you: Facebook is not the be all and end all of marketing your services. Do not fall into the trap of excluding thousands of people who do not have Facebook accounts.