Many businesses gravitate towards social media as their primary avenue for attracting new clientele to their websites, and it’s easy to see why. With a staggering 4.48 billion individuals using social media worldwide, it appears to be an indispensable tool for marketing.
However, placing all your marketing eggs in the social media basket can be a grave error, As a local business learned…Co Tyrone’s , Panache Shoes’ catastrophic loss of 90,000 followers overnight due to a Facebook hack starkly highlights the vulnerabilities inherent in relying solely on social media for business operations. This unfortunate incident is not just about the immediate loss of followers but also underscores a broader range of risks that can disrupt business continuity and affect growth. This incident serves as a compelling wake-up call for small businesses to evaluate and enhance their digital strategies.
Why?
Because when you invest heavily in social media, you’re essentially building your presence on someone else’s turf. While you may be the centre of attention, you’re not the one calling the shots. The content you post doesn’t belong to you in a technical sense, and it can vanish in an instant.
If you pour all your efforts into cultivating a stellar social media presence without any backup plan, you’re vulnerable to losing everything. Social media platforms hold the power to ban, restrict, or penalise your business arbitrarily, without explanation.
You might be tempted to believe that such issues rarely affect small businesses. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. The rules governing social media content are in constant flux, and even innocuous content can land you in hot water. Sometimes, businesses find themselves penalised simply because they operate in a niche that doesn’t align with the platform’s aesthetic.
Moreover, social media platforms occasionally make mistakes, leading to the inadvertent banning or flagging of posts due to errors in their AI systems.
It’s not just Panache Shoes; one of our valued clients at GekkoShot, boasting 100k followers, faced the harrowing threat of losing their Instagram account to a hack. Fortunately, our swift action enabled us to recover their account promptly. However, what sets our client apart from Panache is their foresight in establishing a robust digital presence. With a website seamlessly linking to their Instagram and comprehensive contact information readily available, our client remained resilient in the face of adversity, ensuring they weren’t left stranded in the aftermath of a crisis.
The Risks of Sole Reliance on Social Media
When businesses use social media platforms like Facebook, they essentially operate on rented space. Although you can customise your social media profile and manage your content and interactions, the underlying control of the platform lies with the company that owns it, such as Meta (formerly Facebook). This means that Meta owns the infrastructure, the rules of operation, and the right to change how the platform functions at any time, which can have direct impacts on how your profile operates and how visible it is to others.
In contrast, owning a website gives you much greater control and independence. When you own your website, you have full authority over the content, design, user experience, and data. You make the rules, and you can customise the site to suit the specific needs of your business without concern for external changes in policies or functionalities that you often face with social media platforms. This independence from external platform risks is a significant advantage, as it allows you to build a stable, reliable digital presence that truly represents your business without the risk of losing access or visibility overnight.
What Are the Risks
First, algorithm changes are a common challenge on social media platforms. These platforms frequently update their algorithms to improve user experience or adjust monetization strategies, which can significantly alter content reach and visibility. What works one day for business visibility can change overnight, reducing your content’s effectiveness without warning.
Policy updates are another critical area of concern. Social media platforms often revise their policies governing content, data usage, and user interactions. These changes can lead to unexpected restrictions or bans, potentially cutting off businesses from their audiences. For instance, content that was once deemed acceptable may suddenly fall foul of new guidelines, leading to penalizations or even account suspension.
Lastly, platform instability presents a risk as well. Outages, glitches, and hacking incidents, like the one that affected Panache Shoes, can result in temporary or permanent loss of business data and customer interaction channels. Such disruptions not only impact customer service and sales but can also damage a brand’s reputation if not managed swiftly.
In light of these risks, it is essential for businesses to consider a more robust and diversified digital strategy that does not rely exclusively on the whims and potential instabilities of social media platforms. This approach should ideally include developing and maintaining a self-hosted website that remains unaffected by these social media-specific vulnerabilities.
The Importance of a Diversified Digital Strategy
Diversifying your digital assets is not just a safety measure, it’s a strategic approach that enhances your business’s resilience and reach. Integrating a robust website with your social media efforts forms a more stable foundation for your digital presence, significantly reducing the impact of issues arising from social media platforms.
A well-designed website serves as the cornerstone of a diversified digital strategy. Unlike social media platforms, where policies and algorithms can change without notice, a website remains a controlled environment that you own and operate. It is immune to the unpredictability of social media and provides a secure, stable base where you can host critical business information and engage with customers directly.
Search engine optimisation (SEO) is vital for ensuring your website ranks well in search engine results. Conducting keyword research and optimising your content, meta tags, and URLs will help attract organic traffic to your site.
Security is paramount to protect both your business and your customers’ data. Implementing HTTPS encryption, using strong passwords, and regularly updating your website’s software and plugins are essential security measures.
If your business sells products or services online, secure e-commerce functionality is crucial. Choose a reliable e-commerce platform that supports secure payment processing and offers features like inventory management and order tracking.
Providing excellent customer support on your website is key to enhancing customer satisfaction and loyalty. Incorporate features like live chat, contact forms, and FAQs to address customer inquiries promptly and efficiently.
By incorporating these features and investing in the development of a robust business website, you can create a valuable asset that drives growth and sets your business apart in the digital landscape.
Are you willing to stake your small business’s future solely on social media?
While social media undoubtedly offers valuable opportunities for brand promotion, entrusting your entire business future solely to these platforms can be risky. At Gekkoshot, we understand the importance of a comprehensive digital presence. Beyond managing your social media, we encourage you to consider leveraging our expertise to establish and maintain a professional website for your small business.
By diversifying your online strategy, you not only expand your reach but also mitigate the potential risks associated with relying solely on social media. Let us help you build a robust online presence that stands the test of time.