You go to your customer's preferred method of communication.
If your customers are predominantly Facebook users then that is where you go. Our customers are mostly teens and the best way to reach them and keep them engaged is through Facebook where our response rates are off the charts. Email on the other hand sometimes feels like it is more likely to bounce than to get read. And practically none of them use Twitter.
>You go to your customer's preferred method of communication
I didn't say not to have a presence on Facebook, did I? The social media/new media/online strategy for a great many companies and publications -- I wouldn't be surprised at all if it was >50% of the top 1000 companies in America -- consists solely of having a Facebook fan page.
They might have a website where you can buy their actual product. However, if, "Come visit us on Facebook!" is the extent of your online presence strategy, you're exposing your brand and your strategy to huge risks.
Have a Facebook presence. Make it part of your strategy. But don't be an idiot and make it "Our Facebook/Twitter Strategy." You might think that's silly, and no one would do it, but by god there are a LOT of idiots in the world.
Sure we still use email, our website/forums and even a tray app. But nothing gets the response Facebook engenders so if we were cut off from that we would take a serious hit, probably not business threatening but certainly it would cut revenues enough that I wouldn't be surprised if jobs were in the firing line (not information I am privy so just a guess).
Well, it might be just me, but I think the best place to position your brand the strongest online is your domain. That is where you should put your resources. Relying in such a big way on Facebook that a lot of companies seem to do just seems ludicrous. Especially now. Why would a business EVER want to put their marketing strategy's balls firmly in Facebook's control?
(I'm using the generic "you" here, not specifically you hartror)
Their "marketing strategy's balls" are firmly in Facebook's control regardless, because their customers don't have a firm grasp of the distinction between a Facebook page and a stand-alone domain. (In terms of what it takes for a Facebook page to disappear vs. a domain.)
If your customers are predominantly Facebook users then that is where you go. Our customers are mostly teens and the best way to reach them and keep them engaged is through Facebook where our response rates are off the charts. Email on the other hand sometimes feels like it is more likely to bounce than to get read. And practically none of them use Twitter.