The ugly truth about Facebook for business

If any business should be profiting from Facebook, it’s Blank Label. This hip online fashion retailer was started by a group of 20-somethings who practically grew up on Facebook. And one of the first things cofounder Danny Wong did after launching the company, which allows men to make their own dress shirts, was set up a Facebook page to market the Blank Label business: “Designed by you, stitched by us.”

Wong spent almost an hour a day crafting engaging messages to post at the Facebook page. He dreamed up contests and other promotions to build Blank Label’s Facebook fan base and drive sales. The company was approaching 2,000 friends. Then Wong realized something disturbing: Not a single customer had ever come via Facebook.

“Facebook has produced no results for our company,” he says. “There’s far too much hype around it. The reality is that, as a business, you don’t need to be there.”

Wong says Blank Label won’t be quitting Facebook entirely, because he and others have invested too much time in their page. But, he adds, “we’ll be setting it aside for more important things.”

A lot of stories have been written recently about the growing backlash against Facebook. More and more people are getting worried about their privacy at the site – or lack of it. And many are coming to realize that Facebook, which is now approaching 500 million users, tends to dehumanize personal interactions, like any other social network. Various groups and petitions have sprung up urging users to unfriend Facebook.

But here’s the untold story: A small but increasing number of business owners are also quitting. They joined Facebook because social-media gurus warned that any business not on the site would slip into oblivion. But now, after pouring vast amounts of time, effort, and money into their Facebook pages and seeing no return on the investment, many of these small businesses are walking away.

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