What happens when Facebook goes down?
On October 4, 2021, at around 11:40 AM Eastern, Facebook and all of it's apps, including Instagram, WhatsApp, and Facebook Messenger went down.
Which meant you couldn't access your Facebook groups, share content through Messenger or escape from your daily 9 to 5 with various forms of entertainment.
You could no longer fall into the rabbit hole of Facebook posts and lose yourself for hours in (often) pointless distraction.
While I'm a big fan of taking a break from social media to help recalibrate the important things in your life, I'm glad to see that even Facebook needs a break from time to time.
But it's also scary to think that one company could have such a large impact on the world, let alone your business.
Many businesses rely solely on social media to churn revenue.
But there's a downside to everything.
What do you do when one of the largest companies on the planet and its family of apps that you rely on for business suddenly and simultaneously crashes with no hint of it being fixed any time soon?
You pivot.
You learn what you could have done differently and make changes.
Yes, social media has its purpose, just like everything else, but relying on one avenue to generate revenue is dangerous and often not recommended.
Here are some things you could/should have in place despite what's going on online…
An Email List (A must have)
One of the most important assets a business has is its email list. You should be collecting email addresses from your clients and leads. If you have a Facebook group that works within your business, like it's a part of a service you offer, then you should be collecting emails so you can communicate with your people. Your CRM or programs like Mailchimp or Mailerlite can help you with this.
An Alternate Group/Community Location
It's hard to beat Facebook Groups and all of the features they contain, but it does have its advantages. Keeping your group on Facebook has the power of distraction on its side. It can take your client from focusing to crafting videos to comedy skits to political satire…in all just a few minutes. Minimize the distraction where possible. Platforms like Tribe and CoachAccountable are built for this.
Diversify Your Revenue Streams
Your online lead strategy is still important to have, but…in my opinion, shouldn't be the only strategy. I often tell my clients that you should have a mix of online and offline lead gen strategies. Because, if the internet goes dark today, how are you going to generate leads tomorrow? You need to have a plan in place. I talk about some offline strategies here.
To you…
What do you have in place for when things like this happen?
P.S. Whenever you're ready... here are a few ways I can help YOU grow YOUR business:
Explore my email + group coaching membership program where small business owners learn how to balance the various demands of their life and passion for helping others.
Visit the JSR Vision Academy where I share valuable and actionable content in the form of Masterclasses, ebooks, various downloads, group coaching, and more!
Join The Uncomplicated CEO community where I do live trainings designed to help CEOs align their vision with simple systems and strategies.
Listen to The Building Better Businesses Podcast. Here I share actionable tips and strategies you can use to become the CEO of your life and business.
