Updated: March 5th, 2024
Once again, due to a another widespread outage, several meta platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Messenger, and WhatsApp are currently unavailable. If your business solely relies on these platforms, it's time to consider expanding your online presence. Read below on why your business needs a website.
Over 3.5 billion people worldwide use a Meta services to stay in touch with their loved ones.
On Monday 4th October 2021, Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp went down for over six hours. The Facebook outage meant that people all over the globe were stranded without a means of communicating with their friends, family, or customers. 'Is Facebook Down Today' started trending on Google and Twitter.
The impact of the outage was huge. Read on to discover how small businesses were affected by the blackout and how having a website could have helped them change everything.
The Facebook Outage Impact
The Facebook outage cost the business $100 million in online advertising sales and dropped the companies market shares by 5%, losing them $4 billion.
But they were not the only business to lose out.
Many small businesses heavily rely on Facebook services to promote their services or communicate with their clients. Without any other means to reach their customers, they found themselves in the dark.
This is why it is essential to have a website marketing plan that reaches outside of social media. Putting all of your eggs in one basket leaves your company vulnerable to this kind of outage.
Let's take a look at why you must have a website as well as a social presence.
People Research Online
Over 88% of people do their research online before considering making a purchase. This includes purchases at offline stores as well as online. Shoppers like to browse the options and take time to consider their choices.
Your website is a show catalog that provides them with the material they need to make an informed choice. You are not reliant on the availability of another service like Facebook to promote your business.
Customers were still looking online for your products and services while Facebook was down. Where were they looking at if not your website?
Builds Trust/Professional Image
An incredible 84% of customers believe that a business with a website is more credible and trustworthy. In fact, many will look for the 'Go To Website' button on a social media profile once they are interested in making a purchase.
A website gives a business a sense of authenticity. If potential customers searches on google for your brand name and a website is not listed, they feel less trust towards the brand. Social profiles are great for communicating with your customer but not for building brand confidence.
Attract More Customers
Through Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising, you can reach more customers than ever before. The Facebook outage showed everybody that when Facebook is down, businesses can not advertise their message.
By putting all of your website marketing eggs in one basket, you risk not being able to promote your message at all. Widen the net with a website and make sure you look to advertise across the spectrum.
Saves Time & Money
People tend to have the same questions and queries about your business and repeatedly ask them on social media. This is how a question like 'Is Facebook down today?' began to trend on Twitter. On social media, you may find yourself spending time repeatedly answer the same question.
However, you can save yourself this repeated effort with a website by creating a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page. People can then find the answers they are looking for, and if they do ask them on social media, you can point them in the right direction.
Control Your Brand Image
Social media is full of people's opinions and thoughts on various subjects, including your business. You have little to no control over what people are saying, and it could be affecting your brand.
If people have good things to say about your business, it is essential to get these voices out there. Adding positive testimonials to your website is a way to get these messages heard.
You can show the good things that people are saying on your site's reviews and testimonials page and then share these messages with the world on different social channels.
Website Are No Longer Complicated
Many business owners were put off from building websites because they feared the excessive costs and time to put them together. This is no longer the case, and a web design project can be very straightforward and cost-effective.
The cost benefits of having a website will start to appear not long after you go live, and with the help of a great website agency, you can make the whole process painless and profitable.
You Are Not Reliant On Others
Websites can be hosted offsite and onsite depending on your infrastructure, taking away the reliance on others. If you are entirely dependent on social media platforms to be available, then you are at their mercy if they have a significant outage or ultimately go out of business.
Having a business website puts you in control of your brand presence online. If Facebook is down, you don't have to worry because you know that your customers can still find your products and services when they search on the web. It untethers you from the reliance on others and puts you in control of your own business image.
Facebook Down? No Problem!
Is Facebook down? If you have your own website, it doesn't matter. The Facebook outage taught online marketeers that over-reliance on one mega service like Facebook is not a good thing.
Many business owners still state that their business doesn't need a website as the main reason for not having one. Hopefully, the recent Facebook outage and this article have given these entrepreneurs some food for thought on why that is not the case.
Don't miss out on the 80% of potential customers searching for your brand because a Facebook employee unplugged the wrong cable. Get yourself your own little slice of the internet with a website.
If you would like to know more about how to get your small business online with a website, please get in touch for a free consultation.
