Where were you on Thursday, March 13th? If you’re like millions of Americans, you were frantically refreshing your Facebook and Instagram feeds, searching to see what went wrong on Twitter and stuck in a frantic limbo of wondering if there’s a point in buying a fancy latte without an Instagram story to add it to. For any entrepreneur or small business that utilizes Facebook and Instagram for marketing, the Facebook outage should serve as a wake-up call.
What Happens When You Put All of Your Eggs in One Basket
The Instagram and Facebook outages are a prime example of what happens when businesses rely on a single form of digital marketing. Businesses that solely utilize Facebook and Instagram lost out on engagement, traffic and potential sales. Just like the countless businesses that invested only in SEO before Google algorithm changes, you should never build the entirety of your business’s digital marketing plan on someone else’s platform.
What Happened to Multi-Faceted Businesses?
During the Instagram and Facebook outage, businesses who utilized email marketing could still send sales notifications, interesting articles and other information to customers. When customers weren’t sure how to locate a business without the convenience of searching on Facebook, they turned to the Internet. Companies with mobile-optimized websites received traffic as a result.
In short, businesses who diversified their digital marketing were able to keep customers informed and engaged on a multitude of platforms without batting an eye. Companies who only relied on Facebook were left silent, and silence in the age of constant engagement is not a good thing.
What Can You Learn from the Facebook Outage?
Your business needs a multi-platform approach to online marketing. At the end of the day, you own your email list and the content on your website, and that won’t change if a platform goes down or changes regulations. When a business utilizes websites, blogs, newsletters and numerous social media platforms, a single one being unable to perform for a day does not have a catastrophic impact. If you were affected by the Facebook outage, heed the wake-up call.
Diversify Your Online Marketing with My Content Co
My Content Co knows how to create engaging and effective digital content, just like you know how to grow your small business. We specialize in creating websites, blogs, social media posts and newsletters that are consistent with your brand.
Partner with us to get started with your online marketing goals. Visit us online or contact us today at 410-324-3934 to get started.