At the time of this writing, Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Oculus, are all suffering from ‘technical difficulties’ that have resulted in hours of outages. These platform outages have been going on for hours, with no real sense of how long they’ll continue.
As far as we know, the source of the problem is still being determined, though some clues are coming to light. There is much speculation surrounding the event, especially with a significant amount of bad press and plunging stock prices for the company.
Nonetheless, being among the largest social media networks, the effect is being felt by millions. Among these millions of people affected by the outages are large groups of small to medium-sized businesses who leverage the platform as their primary tool for communications to prospects and existing customers.
Through this, there are some lessons that can be learned for makers, creators, and entrepreneurs to minimize the negative effects.
Every business needs its own online presence.
We cannot stress this enough. Every business, big and small, must have its own website. A website is the digital front door to your business, and social media platforms should only serve as marketplaces and outreach tools that support your business. They should not operate as the foundation. This isn’t only applicable to Facebook and Instagram, but to any platform you do not own.
If you don’t own it, you don’t control it.
So, what’s the fastest way to build your own online space?
Getting your business online as quickly as possible is key. We have some free tools that will help you get online and selling through our local business online toolkit.
These tools will help you claim your Google Listing, get reviews, manage your reputation, build a website, and start selling your products and services.
DIY tools sound overwhelming? Contact us for help.
You need to have access to multiple communication channels to reach your customers.
When an outage occurs on any communication channel, backup methods of communication are key. Sure, TikTok, Pinterest, and Twitter are all still online, but those won’t help you in your time of need if you haven’t invested in building a following on those platforms.
This is why we encourage all of our clients to maintain email marketing endeavors and text message campaigns. With tools like these in place, it’s easy to get the word out about that special sale or new product launch even if other channels, like Facebook and Instagram, are offline.
What’s the best way to get these extra lines of communication?
We offer both free and paid tools that help you manage these types of communications. Our Local Business Online Toolkit includes an email marketing platform and a text messaging platform that allows you to communicate directly with your customers on the channels they’re turning to in the wake of these outages.
Never put all your eggs in one basket.
Finally, we’ve all heard the advice, “Never put all your eggs in one basket.” This is most often referred to in financial endeavors, but the lesson is applicable in so many different ways. Many people have trusted Facebook logins to sign into other, third-party applications. This has caused an issue with getting logged into those tools that allowed users to quickly register using their Facebook credentials, but now they’re at a standstill.
I encourage all businesses who are feeling the effects of this outage to do an internal assessment on how you can diversify their online presence and communication tools. Not sure where to start or how to go about it? Contact us for a free, no-obligation consultation.
At Raine Digital, we’re passionate about growing local businesses.
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