Letter To The Editor, Renton Business Owners: Facebook vs. Custom Web Site, Which Is Better?

This is not meant as too harsh a criticism, but as a recent Com major (Int'l & Visual Marketing) I'd just like to point out the detriment of local small businesses attaching oneself too closely to Facebook and only Facebook.

Yes, it seems the 'in' thing and there's a potential huge outreach expectantly to be heard from but I've read it, studied it and real life watched it ad nauseum: it takes too much power away from a business and returns even less.
The answer?  In our own back yard.

I know many good Renton citizens who are skilled in web site building (not myself) and a handful who know how to use social media juuuust right to attract and interact with customers (SM), driving and retaining customer's privacy while receiving accurate, secure and singular owned valuable metrics and prestige of operating one's own domain (web site)... (Me!). Facebook gives you one: "Like". It's not very helpful and rarely an accurate measure of ones online presence, success and dynamics.

One may also be surprised to find just how affordable a neat, super custom web site is. They are no longer the static, ugly things that perhaps some business owners may associate with a site.

In fact, they're so flexible that one may even add/check up on web activity and statistics/visits/where from where on the web site visitors drifted in, all from one's smartphone that simply one gets none of when relying on Facebook. (Facebook gets it all and uses it to advertise to YOUR customers, most likely throwing a different business rather than yours in your customers face unless you (say it together now!) PAY!

Remember: shop locally and support Renton businesses when we can! But don't forget we have our own very good tech marketing web design entrepreneurs here in our back yard as well as retail!

Best,

Adam Christian Smith
Renton, WA