3 Things to Do If the Facebook and Instagram Blackout Scared You

This blog post may contain affiliate links. We only promote products and services that we know and love. Thank you for supporting the resources that support Dash of Social®!

Just when it seemed like things were starting to look up for the remainder of this year, Facebook and Instagram go MIA for around 8 hours — typical, right? If that situation gave you that “OH CRAP!” feeling because you’re petrified about not being seen in front of your audience for those 8 hours, it’s time for you to rethink your marketing strategy…

Because anyone who has a solid, diversified marketing strategy in place didn’t even bat an eye when The Great Blackout occurred.

If this event scared you, get these three marketing initiatives up and running before it’s too late, all in the form of owned media — content that you own and have full control over, unlike social media.

Build a Website

No, Instagram isn’t your website.

Sure, Instagram is a great way to showcase who you are, what you do, and how you help, but if you’re treating Instagram as if it’s a website, we feel for you, friend.

This is where a website is necessary.

Social media gives a taste of what you can offer and how you can support your audience, but your ultimate goal should be to drive that audience to your website where they can learn even more information and transition from being someone interested in your products or services to actually handing you their money. And, if people don’t find your website through social media, they’ll still be able to find it through the help of our trusted ally, search engine optimization (SEO).

You don’t need a fancy schmancy website right off the bat (if you saw our website when it was first launched circa 2016, you’d see what we mean…), but at least having a website up and running that’s ready to accept your clients or customers is important. Start with an easy-to-use platform like Squarespace if you’re doing this yourself and just getting started, or if you really want to bring in the big guns and hire a pro, WordPress is the way to go.

Grow Your Email List

No, people aren’t going to get “annoyed” if you email them.

Hey, remember that email list you started when you launched your business and haven’t touched since? It’s time to say hello to that old friend of yours again.

Whether you had a simple form on your website for people to subscribe to your newsletter, collected email addresses at events you were a part of, offered a freebie in exchange for email addresses, or another method, the point of the matter is you’ve been gathering email addresses all these years and doing absolutely nothing with them.

YIKES!

Now, we know what you’re thinking — “I haven’t sent a newsletter in so long, what should I possibly write about?”

Lucky for you, we have a few ideas in mind:

1. Re-introduction email. Has your business or products / services changed? Tell your subscribers the new and exciting things you have happening.
2. Latest updates. Have you been doing really cool things with your business, from getting featured in publications to putting together awesome publications? Share those.
3. Expertise. Talk about what you know best — YOU! If you have advice, knowledge, or tips to share relating to your industry, send them out — people love receiving value things for free.

And if you haven’t been collecting emails at all… then DOUBLE YIKES! Get started with building your email list now, which can happen through a software as easy peasy as Mailchimp.

Start a Blog

No, blogging isn’t a thing of the 90s.

We know what you’re thinking here, too — “No one reads blogs anymore!”

And to that, we say — well, you’re reading this blog. Touché? Touché.

In case you’re still unconvinced that having a blog is necessary, here are the three biggest selling points:

1. It establishes thought leadership. You know that you’re good at what you do, so why not do everything you can to show that? Having a blog allows you to demonstrate your expertise and prove why you’re one of the best in the industry.
2. It drives website traffic. Relating back to the first piece of advice in this blog post, having a website is just one thing — but driving people to it is another. What’s the easiest way to bring people to your website? Publish a blog post and share it everywhere. Problem solved.
3. It increases your search rankings. Remember old faithful SEO that we just mentioned above? Publishing new, valuable content — like blogs — helps with your visibility on search engines. When social media takes the day off, Google is still there, so you want to ensure you’re leveraging that method to drive people to your content.

After reading the reasons why you need a blog, we know you’re now thinking next — “I don’t know what to write about!”

And we’ve got you covered here, too. You can use blog posts to:

• Share how-to guides for your product, service, or industry
• Highlight a press feature
• Talk about a lesson or experience

Whatever you choose to write about, just know that it will always provide value to your audience in some way.

And there you have it — the three things you absolutely must have in your marketing strategy if you’re scared about losing control of your social media profiles. The best part about these three outlets? They all tie into one another…

Your blog exists on your website, you can use your website to drive people to your email list, and you can use your email list to drive people to your blog.

Boom.

Get in touch with us to learn how we can help you develop an entire marketing strategy by filling out our contact form or scheduling a free consultation.