Facebook is down, or a time to consider other channels

All of Facebook is currently offline. That means that Facebook.com, the Facebook app, Instagram, Whatsapp, and all of Facebook’s tools are offline, and can’t be accessed by Facebook’s users. Facebook’s work product, Workplaces is even offline. Facebook is effectively wiped from the internet right now, which never happens, as Facebook can effectively (in some ways) be considered the Internet. Whoever is dealing with this at Facebook has a big job to complete right now. Depending on how much your business, brand or organization relies on Facebook products, today may be a crisis. Luckily, Facebook is down for everyone, and another silver lining is that this can be an opportunity to consider other channels to reach your customers.

Are you too dependent on social media? Social media is a fantastic way to reach your customers and potential new ones, but if you rely on direct response social media advertising (pay per click), you can start to think of social media ads as a tax on your profit. If social media advertising is your #1 way of reaching customers, then maybe find a few other channels that are organic and cheaper. What is a halt to all of social media other than a time to notice a halt to your ad spend?

If you get all of your traffic from paid social media, try blogging more, or posting more engaging content on your social media. Blogging will create webpages for search engines to index, creating a landing page for potential customers’ search queries. If you advertise on social media, you can cut that spend by posting more engaging content that gains more reach. Try posting more video, or following a trend on TikTok. Consider posting information about your products or services onto YouTube.

Singularly focusing on social media blocks you off from whole other worlds of potential customers. Some people don’t use social media, some people only use it sparingly. Try other ways of reaching people. If you’re spending on social media ads, try taking some of that spend and allocate it to paid search ads. All of Facebook is down today, and while it will probably come back, take the prompt to consider how you’d reach your customers during the next social media blackout.