What Impact Will Facebook Have On Domaining In 2011?

I would be remiss if I went any further into 2011 without writing this post. There’s an elephant in the room and it’s time to talk about it with all of you. So let’s just get it out there – Facebook is changing the Internet…okay, let me be even more brutally honest – Facebook HAS changed the Internet.

Now for the magic question of 2011 – how will Facebook change the Domaining world? If any of you watched the Super Bowl you probably noticed that for the first time ever more companies used their Facebook URLs than their regular website address. This is a big change and it’s just beginning.

So is the sky falling? No it’s not and I don’t think there is any reason that domain names or the Domaining industry is in trouble, but I do think that we all have to adapt. As with any business or market the dynamics change over time and it’s those who adapt and grow with those changes that succeed.

First I’ll say once and for all – I do not think that Facebook Pages will replace domain names, ever. I do think that Facebook Pages are an essential piece of an online brand. It’s not that you can’t build a great brand on a .com – you can and should, however if you’re not engaging people through Facebook as well you might be missing-out on a chunk of your market.

Here’s an example. I am starting a new online brand in the credit monitoring space (not giving away the domain yet…still a work in progress). In building this brand the first thing I’m doing is focusing on building a steller website on a great .com domain. That is still the first step and absolutely essential.

Having a great .com and a well-built, SEO optimized website is only half the battle. Engaging customer through social media is a must and a Facebook Page is the best way to easily engage the throngs of people online that might be interested in your business but are searching Facebook instead of Google. On top of that, Facebook pages are a great way to easily stay connected to your website visitors. It takes less than two minutes to add a Facebook Like button to your site and users are far more likely to click a “Like” button than they are to enter their email address.

So don’t panic, Facebook Page will not replace domains but if you don’t have a Facebook Page to compliment your developed names you might be missing-out on a great way to engage and connect with visitors. As Domainers we’re all addicted to the same thing – traffic – and Facebook has a ton of it so why not add that to your existing brand?

Now it’s your turn – what impact do you think Facebook will have on Domaining in 2011? Comment and let your voice be heard!

Morgan Linton

Morgan Linton