Facebook Outage Warning | Weekly Resources
The Facebook outage serves as a warning to small business (and big business) owners alike: you have no control over social platforms.
So what can you do to prepare for the next interruption on social media?
Learn more in this week’s top resource, plus get news about Intagram video and more…
Content Marketing Institute
Did the outage this week on Facebook’s family of Apps affect you or your business?
The #Facebookdown event should remind us that we have no control over social media sites – they are referred to as “rented” space for your business.
I’m sharing this first resource because part of it goes a bit farther than discussing just the Facebook outage.
It offers some great tips on how to set up a crisis plan now in case you lose access to any online tool that manages your communication with your audience.
From the post:
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- Create a communication crisis plan. First, review every platform used to connect with your audience – from your CRM and CMS to your websites and social channels to make sure they can work individually even if they’re usually interconnected. For example, if your email newsletter software went down, would you be able to access the email addresses in your database to reach your audience (even if it’s in a more time-consuming, less automated way)?
- Second, document a plan for what to do if one mode of audience communication goes down. Take that e-newsletter example. If you couldn’t access your standard templates, would you still send the newsletter? If so, how? What are the steps, and who’s responsible for each one?
- The questions and details will be unique to each brand, but the outcome should be the same: You aren’t beholden to a single software, tool, platform, etc. as the only way to connect with your audience. And if a disruption occurs, you’ll have a plan ready to work around that challenge.
Along with a communication crisis plan, you should also consider diversifying your social media presence.
If you’re only using Facebook/Instagram for business, what would you have done if they had been down for more than 5-6 hours?
What other social media platforms did your target audience switch to when Facebook and Instagram were down? Do you know?
YouTube – Pinterest – Twitter – LinkedIn – TikTok – which of these other platforms do you have a presence on?
If you’re not sure which other platform(s) to use, you can always ask your target audience.
Or do some research with a resource like the Pew Research Center:
Social Media Fact Sheet by Pew Research Center
If you have questions or need some help determining the best social platforms for your business, I’m happy to help! Contact me here
So you have 2 things to consider and plan for:
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- Get your own communication crisis plan in place.
- Diversify your social media presence.
You can learn more about what Facebook said about the outage here:
Update About the October 4 Outage
2. Creating Instagram Videos Just Got Even Easier
Instagram blog
Instagram is combining IGTV and feed videos into one format – Instagram Video.
They are also introducing a new Video tab on profiles, where this combined video format will live.
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- Video options for you now:
- Stories = up to 15 seconds each.
- Reels = up to 60 seconds.
- Feed video = 3-60 seconds.
- Live = up to 4 hours.
- Instagram Video (previously IGTV) = up to 60 minutes for verified or larger accounts; regular accounts are 10 minutes max.
3. Twitter Updates Christmas Hub to Help Marketers Plan their Holiday Campaigns
Social Media Today
We’ve got another holiday guide out this week, so check it out if you plan to advertise on Twitter or promote items/services organically on the platform.
Weekly Inspiration
“Armed with positive thoughts, it becomes easier to focus on your goals, while the opposite also holds true.” Stephen Richards
Digital Marketing Must-Reads: Resources for your small business
Each week I share a few top resources to help you keep up with changes on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and other major social media platforms.
Use these resources and trends to develop your digital marketing strategy and make adjustments as necessary, because the only thing constant in the digital marketing universe is…Change.
Need some help with your digital marketing or social media strategy? Set up a free consultation with me to discuss your business and some simple strategies to implement today!
