Let’s not mince words – Facebook built the world’s largest social media platform, a digital town square with billions of users. Then they built the most powerful ad platform on top of it. Then they broke it.
Over the years, we’ve seen the dramatic rise of Facebook and what now may be its fall. Back in 2011, business owners thought it was a crazy idea to promote your business on Facebook. In 2015, organic reach started to plummet and ads became vital to maintain a presence on the platform – and it worked.
Now, after Apple’s privacy updates (and Google’s that are coming soon to Android), Facebook as that a crossroads. Many businesses that were buying $20,000+ a month in ads have seen revenue plummet. So when it comes to sustaining your business’ lead flow, now may be the time to start seeking out alternatives to Facebook. Here’s our advice:
Build a Brand, Not a Presence
Building a presence on a social media platform creates more value for the platform than it does for your business – at least over the long run.
Instead, focus on using a platform to connect with individuals – build a network of actual human beings instead of a following.
When you connect with people and build a brand, your presence can move platform to platform relatively easily.
Start Blogging
There are only two parts of your online presence that you fully control – your website and your email list. For long term success without platform risk, those are the two components that should get the majority of your resources.
Blogging is an essential component of your website – it gives potential clients immediate access to your expertise and represents your brand, company, and style in exactly the way you want it to. And did we mention it is the crucial component to supporting and driving great SEO?
By having a robust blog strategy, you are able to cultivate a strong presence online where you (bonus!) provide great information to potential clients who are more ready to buy or hire you from the start. If you think you have an SEO strategy in place but aren’t blogging, you don’t have an SEO strategy.
The best part about blogging? You write one post and it lives on forever, continually driving traffic to you for years whereas a Facebook post stops creating impressions (at best) a day or two after you write it.
Consider Hiring Content Marketers
Content marketing often becomes a full-time job that few small businesses can handle on their own. It requires a high level of planning and creating new innovative ideas and ways to share content. If you feel like handling your own content marketing could put a strain on the other work you have to take care of, hiring a content marketing team may be a good idea.
At the end of the day, the decision to reduce your business’ reliance on Facebook is up to you. There are plenty of alternatives to Facebook available, and every social media site has a solid demographic core. Find the site for your best customers and stake a claim there – odds are it’s the one you already have.