• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Business Coaching
  • Services
    • Pinterest Strategy and Management
    • Google Web Stories Strategy and Management
    • Retainer Online Business Management Packages
  • Testimonials
  • Contact Us
  • Blog
  • Shop
  • Free Facebook Group
  • Course Log In
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • YouTube
Allison Lancaster

Allison Lancaster

Online Business Management & Virtual Assistant Coaching

5 Reasons Your Business Cannot Rely On Social Media For Sales

by

Facebook is down! I can’t upload Instagram stories! Why can’t I see my Facebook messages?

All thoughts that I, along with many of you have had today. As you likely know by now, both Facebook and Instagram have been down for a good portion of the day. While I have had some time to detox from social media, it led me to think about what lessons we as entrepreneurs can take away from today’s outage. There are MANY of them, but below are a few key takeaways from the outage. Trust me, these are important and things to prepare for now. As you know, the online world is an ever changing place and nothing stays the same for very long. 


Key Takeaways From Today’s Facebook & Instagram Outage

  1. You NEED a Website. Now. Right. Now. If you already have a website, you still need to read this point. A website is the only thing that you really own. We don’t own Facebook or Instagram and therefore – they can go away at any time. As we know by now, the algorithms change constantly, making it more and more difficult for businesses to gain traction without an in-depth strategy. By having your own website, you not only own your content, but you also have a place for all of your clients and sales to land. If you are relying on Facebook for sales or messenger to communicate with clients. Stop it. Right now. Your website doesn’t have to be complicated or bankrupt you, but it is something you MUST have! If you already have a website, make sure that it’s updated, secured, backed up and maintained properly. An unsafe website can leave you crippled with hours, days and months of lost content.
  2. If You Aren’t On Pinterest, You Need To Be! Of course, we know that Pinterest goes down sometimes, as well. However, Pinterest traffic is much more reliable than social media traffic. Pinterest is a search engine, and just like Google…if used properly, can drive a ton of traffic (and sales) to your site! When Facebook & Instagram go down for a day, two or more, you will still see traffic from Pinterest!
  3. Your Site Needs To Be Optimized For Search Engines. I know, again with the website. However, I cannot say this enough. Optimizing your site for search engines is highly important. The likelihood of social media platforms falling by the wayside is much more probable than the likelihood of search engines going away. By focusing on putting out high-quality, search engine-optimized content – you are investing in a long-term strategy for your business.
  4. We All Need to Unplug From Time to Time. Honestly, I spend way too much time on social media. It’s my job. I love what I do, so I tend to spend a ton of time researching algorithms, trends, etc. to ensure that my clients’ accounts are ahead of the game with what is just around the corner for social media. That being said, today’s outage forced me to step away from the computer & phone for a bit. Guess what? I survived! I feel recharged and ready to get back to work. We all need to unplug from time to time, and it shouldn’t take a social media outage to make that happen.
  5. You NEED a Mailing List and you NEED to Nurture It! Again, something else that you own. You own your mailing list. Nurture that list. Stay in contact with the people on your list. Let them know how they can contact you outside of social media (because…outages).

When all is said and done, we are all trying to grow and nurture our businesses. Social media is a great way to do just that. However, I am a firm believer in making sure that you are ahead of the game and that you have a plan for when the tides change.

Don’t Forget To Sign Up For My Newsletter For the Latest Marketing Tips, Lessons in Entrepreneurship and More!

Filed Under: Blogging, Social Media

Sign Up for our FREE Resource Library For Business Owners

Thank you SO much for your kind words!! 🥰🥰 Thank you SO much for your kind words!! 🥰🥰
I shared this to my email list yesterday but in ca I shared this to my email list yesterday but in case you aren't on our list...⁠
⁠
⁠
As we head into Thanksgiving (in the US) this week and ultimately the busyness of the holiday season, I wanted to take a moment to say thank you.⁠
⁠
Many of you on our newsletter list are clients and I cannot express how grateful I am for you- every single day of the year. Over the last (almost) 8 years, I have had the pleasure of watching so many of you grow your business and build your dreams. I am so thankful to be a part of that and forever grateful for every single one of you.⁠
⁠
You are a part of my 'extended family' and I love not only getting to work with you but also getting to know you. So...thank you. A million times..thank you! I am excited to finish out 2023 strong and cannot wait to see what 2024 brings to your business.⁠
⁠
Some of you on this list aren't current clients but I also wanted to take a moment to say just how grateful I am for you as well. So many of you were once strangers in this online space that I now consider friends. Thank you for being part of this wonderful community.
Thank you SO much!!!🤩🤩 Thank you SO much!!!🤩🤩
Progress is...boring. ⁠ ⁠ I'll let you all in Progress is...boring. ⁠
⁠
I'll let you all in on a secret I haven't shared with many people but, I'm on a health journey. If I lose weight, great but if not...I want to get healthier. I want to focus on my health and taking care of myself. ⁠
⁠
Do I sometimes fall into the "ugh, this is really tedious, can I just meet my goals already" trap? Sure I do. ⁠
⁠
But here's the thing: progress is boring. It's a ton of small decisions that add up to really big results. ⁠
⁠
When I first started my business, I didn't see progress overnight. I worked until 2 am some nights (not that I would suggest that) with a newborn baby in the house. I cold emailed. I posted in Facebook groups. I thought outside of the box.⁠
⁠
Now, almost 8 years in, I still try to do those "small" things that add up to big progress - things like nurturing client relationships, thinking outside of the box for our clients, being up to date on the latest best practices, etc. ⁠
⁠
⁠
The same can be said for my health journey...I am counting calories, I am walking a TON, I am lifting weights, I am focusing on my sleep and reducing my stress. ⁠
⁠
I've been on this health journey for several months now and does It get boring? Absolutely. Does It get tedious? 100%. But...am I starting to see small rewards and progress? Yes! ⁠
⁠
So, whether you are a new business owner or you've been at this for 10+ years...keep at it friends. Keep doing the 'small & boring' things. It will pay off. ⁠
⁠
I thought we could all use this reminder 🥰
Load More Follow on Instagram
Allison Lancaster

Copyright Online Business Solutions by Allison R. Lancaster, LLC · 2022
Accessibility
Privacy Policy Disclaimer & Terms of Use

Manage Cookie Consent
We use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. We do this to improve browsing experience and to show personalized ads. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}
Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}