Business Insider is running a story about how some companies have recently experienced a massive fall in their Facebook traffic, after the site tweaked the way it calculated which posts people get to see.
It speculates that Facebook was trying to deliberately sabotage the company pages – which are free – because it wants firms to pay for ads instead.
Whether or not this is true, the lesson is clear: It is dangerous to rely too much on any one social media platform to promote your business, because they can change their rules at any minute – and leave your entire marketing strategy devastated. This is as true for Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+ and all the rest as it is for Facebook.
So how do you develop an online campaign with better immunity to the whims of others?
- Anchor it in space that you control – your own website and blog. It’s essential to post on Facebook or LinkedIn, but your clients’ journey with you must not end there. Make sure that you are using social media to direct traffic back to your own home ground.
- Make it a priority to get your website visitors’ email addresses. While the thousands of fans you have built up on Facebook or Twitter could disappear overnight if the terms of use of those websites changed, your email list is in your own hands.
- If possible – and of course this depends on budget, as well as where your prospective clients are hanging out online – spread the risk. Don’t rely too much on any one site.
Ultimately, companies must change the way they think about social media. For too many firms, developing a solid presence on Facebook or Twitter is the ultimate goal. They forget that this is not an end, but only a means to an end.
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