When the more than five-hour outage of Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram took place, lives were not only disrupted but businesses were cut off from customers. Whilst it may have been seen as a minor inconvenience for users or the opportunity for your team to be more productive, the disruption could have caused brands and organizations to lose valuable business. A few hours of outage had the potential to upend advertising campaigns and scheduled posts. Imagine your brand being in the middle of a Facebook or Instagram campaign! Think about the business that takes most of their orders through WhatsApp! How about if you intended to advise the public of a service disruption and then as soon as you were about to post the information online, the outage took place? How would you communicate with customers? Whether you are a service provider, have an online business or have a physical store, the outage on these platforms taught us some valuable lessons:

You do not have as much control as you think – Facebook for example is also used to sign into other apps and services so without the availability of this platform, there is a domino effect, including the inability to access shopping websites as well as internet connected devices. Think about what that means for you as a business owner or a communications professional.

Invest in other platforms – You don’t own Facebook, Instagram, or WhatsApp. Those belong to Mark Zuckerberg! You may have a page on these platforms, but you are not in control. The outage signifies the importance of diversifying among various channels rather than relying on one or two platforms that are ultimately out of your brand’s control. If you rely heavily on these platforms as opposed to owning an email marketing list or a website, the consequences can be costly.

Develop an email marketing strategy – By not thinking of an email marketing strategy, you’re running the risk of not being able to communicate to your audience or even access important data that may be critical to your business operations. Here’s why you need to develop your email marketing list:

You own your audience – If you’re blocked out of Facebook or Instagram or someone reports your page, you have a custom list you can rely on.

It can drive traffic to your website – One of the key calls to action in your email should be to click onto your website. Ensure your landing page is optimised and you’re sure to have a steady stream of traffic.

Audience insights at your fingertips – You can upload your email list to Facebook to build lookalike audiences to target new customers with similar interests and behaviours.

Candice Sealey is the Founder & Principal Consultant at Ignite! a Full-service Marketing & PR Consultancy that helps businesses/brands to stand out and communicate the right message to the right people through Strategy, Marketing, Media services and Design solutions. She is also a freelance content writer, advertising copywriter, voiceover talent, media. Follow us on FB & IG 784-432-2223 Email: igniteresults