Oh no! Facebook is down… now what do I do?
Oh no! Facebook is down… now what do I do?
POSTED ON OCTOBER 4, 2021 BY DAVID SMITH
Maybe you noticed, maybe you didn’t. Chances are, at some point you’ll have either been directly affected by today’s Facebook outage – or at least heard about it.
As I’m writing this, it has been down for at least an hour and is still down for who knows how much longer.
Never fear. I’ve got you.
This is a bit long, but stick with me for ONE key solution that can’t be overstated when stuff hits the fan…
While Zuck’s platform isn’t my favorite thing on the planet, I do value it for a variety of reasons (both personally and professionally).
On a business level, I know I had several things lined up to execute today. Maybe that’s the case for you – or someone on your team.
What if…
You had a huge Instagram campaign lined up for today
You planned a Facebook Live event during the outage
Your new product or special announcement just dropped and now your audience can’t find it
Hopefully, we’ve learned something from the past year and a half or so…
Things happen that prevent us from doing “business as usual” or at least how we planned.
There was a time when we suddenly:
Couldn’t depend on walk-in traffic to our stores for sales
Had to figure out what to do when that tradeshow or special event got cancelled
Lost out on in-person interactions to drive leads, sales, etc.
What did we learn then – if we didn’t already know it – about the value of having
control of when and how we communicate with those we aim to serve?
Owning your own list of email addresses, phone numbers, mailing addresses, etc. for your customers and prospects is VITAL.
Think about those restaurants who were suddenly forced to shut their doors.
The ones who had an email and/or mailing list so that they at least COULD notify their customers about a new curbside or delivery service were MUCH better positioned for success than those who did not.
Same thing is true when social media platforms go down. Remember when Twitter blipped for a bit? Yeah, it’s happened.
Don’t get me wrong, it is important to understand if or how social media can or should fit into your business strategy, but…
It can’t be the be all and end all for your success. Just like any other digital or in-person tactic or strategy that might suddenly be taken away or go on pause.
What can prevail is your own list of customers and prospects.
“SO WHAT DO I DO NOW?”
Glad you asked
Start with these three things:
1. Review your lead capture and lead management systems.
How well are you capturing data that will enable you to have what you need to communicate and drive sales when other methods or channels shut down?
2. Examine your communication strategy to your list.
If the first time they hear from you is when something happens, that’s better than nothing.
How much more effective will that outreach be if your list is used to hearing from you and getting value from what you send?
3. Have a backup plan for ways to get your message out if your primary plan takes a left turn.
Even better…have an “integrated and cross-channel” plan that will hedge against any issues that might arise.
This way, if one piece (like FB shutting down) gets sidetracked or shelved, you’ve got other pieces in motion to keep things rocking and rolling.
I’m here to serve.
Even when, and especially if, businesses get hit with curveballs.
Want to talk more about anything from today’s message?
Grab a spot on my calendar here
If you haven’t already…
Check out my quick video on the 6 fundamentals that will keep you from lighting your marketing or advertising
money on fire.
Or… comment with a question or the 1 thing you’re going to do to improve your readiness for the next thing that could throw a wrench in your success.
I’d love to hear from you.
-David
