While the global outage of Facebook-owned platforms on October 4 was likely inconvenient for casual scrollers, or even a welcome chance to disengage, it was a sobering wake-up call for brands that rely on these platforms to communicate with consumers and run their businesses smoothly. The 6+ hours of social media “lights out” only reinforced the need for brands to have a hub of owned content, beyond “rented” space on social media platforms, to avoid serious disruptions to their success metrics – and even bottom line.
What happened, exactly?
From about 10:40 a.m. CST to 5:00 p.m. CST, Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp were inaccessible to users – about 3.5 billion of them worldwide – causing a flurry of speculation on Twitter, and jokes and memes about the outage. That evening, after access was restored, Facebook officials confirmed its largest outage in history was caused by a routine update to its Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) gone awry, but the impact was already felt globally. From hampering sponsored and paid-for ads from going live as scheduled, to halting sales for smaller businesses, a shutdown on a such a massive level only proved how much Facebook has evolved beyond a simple social platform into critical infrastructure.
Owned content is key
So, what’s the lesson brands can learn from this? In addition to Facebook and Instagram, share the wealth across multiple social media platforms, including Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube. Even trending platforms like TikTok, Reddit or Snapchat, if they’re right for your brand, will help round out your online presence so you can stay in market. But first and foremost, your content strategy should lead with a healthy dose of content on your own platforms: website and blogs, and a robust email list for direct campaigns. This helps to minimize the risk of bringing business to a standstill during an unexpected social media outage of this proportion.
Whether your content is hosted on “owned” or “rented” platforms, or ideally, a balance of both, make it count. Compelling, on-brand content will help your people find you, learn about and appreciate your offering, and engage with your brand over time. All of which contribute to the success of your business.
If you have an e-comm store or inventory on Facebook or Instagram, it may be worthwhile to also have e-comm on your brand’s website as a backup. One huge complaint during the outage from small business owners who run their e-comm solely on social media was that missing out on even a few hours of business translated to significant sales losses. Shifting some or all of your inventory onto your website also helps give you a more robust, well-rounded online presence so you have more ways to engage new audiences and allow them a deeper dive into your content.
Though social outages this massive have been infrequent, it’s best to be prepared by spreading the content love across multiple social platforms – with owned content at the core – so your brand remains reachable to users 24/7. After all, the last thing you want is for your business to be left in the dark.
If you’re ready to up your owned content game, we can help with that. Reach out to Barbara Wray at barbara@wickmarketing.com or (512) 479-9834 to talk.
