Facebook is heralded as the social media platform to help you reach the people who matter the most to your small business–potential and existing customers. Most marketing gurus will tell small business owners that they need to create a hub for their business on Facebook and then proceed to tell them how to maximize it.
To the contrary, a recent question posed: What is one reason businesses should move OFF of the social media platform? The Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) is an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. YEC members generate billions of dollars in revenue and have created tens of thousands of jobs. YEC reached out to its BusinessCollective; launched in partnership with Citi, it is a virtual mentorship program powered by North America’s most ambitious young thought leaders, entrepreneurs, executives and small business owners. Here’s what their members had to say:
1. Oversaturated Social Media Culture
“Facebook has recently turned into a kind of wasteland for social media outreach, and if you don’t have a dynamic message to rise to the top of the pile, you’re going to get lost. Don’t waste your time trying to leverage a social media campaign that’ll fall on deaf ears. Try to reach out to your customers on other sites with different, challenging messages. Try to stand out.” Â –Rob Fulton, AudioLumin
2. Difficulty Separating Your Business and Personal Accounts
“For most businesses, it’s advantageous to use Facebook. The only reason I can think of not to use it is if you have a personal profile that might make people question your professionalism. So if you have a wild side in your personal life that you share on Facebook and a more conservative type of business, you might be better off just avoiding Facebook for business.” –Shawn Porat, Judgment Marketplace
3. Facebook Makes You Pay to Connect With Your Audience
“According to Facebook, when a business posts to Facebook it reaches only 16% of its intended audience. What is an advertiser to do? One option is to pay-up via Facebook Ads to deliver your messages to a larger audience. The other option, move OFF of Facebook and focus your energy on no-cost marketing channels like SEO.” –Kristopher Jones, LSEO.com
 4. Susceptibility to Random Posts
“Facebook pages are very susceptible to random postings that can damage your reputation. If someone posts a terrible review of your business, true or untrue, and it gets shared or viewed a lot before you can address it, your business could be permanently damaged.” –Kumar Arora, Aroridex, Ltd.
5. Not Worth the Limited Reach
“Over the past few years, Facebook convinced brands to spending hundreds of millions of dollars to build their Facebook fan pages. Now, however, those same brands can’t reach their communities without sponsoring their content. Why? Because the organic reach for a fan page is 6% (and dropping), which means brands have to pay again to reach the fans they already paid to acquire.” –Brian David Crane, Caller Smart Inc.