When Facebook and Instagram inexplicably stopped working across the globe on Monday, October 4, casual users were forced to find other entertainment. But for business owners that rely on E-commerce features to connect with customers and accept orders and payments, those hours were long and costly.
The outage is explained by Facebook as a network configuration problem, saying that no data was compromised in the time it was down. But it’s almost impossible not to visualize Mark Zuckerberg dashing off to douse another raging Facebook fire as they keep popping up in the dry and windy land of public scorn.
This latest trouble seems to have no relationship to the other issues plaguing the social media giant. Last week, revelations surfaced that Facebook and Instagram have internal research showing that young girls using Instagram were negatively impacted by the site in areas related to mental health and body image. Just under a third, or 32% of teen girls said that when they felt negative about their bodies, Instagram made them feel worse.
The exposure of these findings by the Wall Street Journal has caused Facebook to delay the release of a new Instagram app designed for kids.
Now, this week has piled on yet another scandal, with a whistleblower from Facebook testifying before Congress that the company has become the tobacco industry of this century, consistently placing profit above public health.
The revelations aren’t hitting a sympathetic public. In October 2020, the Pew Research Center found that nearly two-thirds, or 64% of Americans said that social media was having a negative impact on the country. Among the problems are misinformation, hate, and harassment that users see happening on social media sites. Specifically, Americans see the political polarization as a problem, and many conservatives view social media sites as working in opposition to their values.
What Does All of This Mean for Your Business?
We can probably all agree getting a day away from the negative posts that seem to be increasingly popular on Facebook is a good thing. But beyond that, you may be wondering whether the Facebook and Instagram outage or the scandals rocking social media and the tech world have anything to do with your company or your marketing practices.
Maybe you only lost a few opportunities to post on Monday, or maybe your ability to make sales was significantly hurt during the outage. In either case, it’s a good idea to think about how to rebalance your strategy, ensuring that no single connection point with customers has the power to cost you sales.
Facebook and Instagram are important parts of any marketing strategy, but when a company’s success depends solely on avoiding a faulty network configuration to make sales, it’s time to diversify your business processes.
If you’re not sure how to Facebook- and Instagram-proof your marketing strategy, learn more about how our platform could be used to simplify your life and elevate your marketing engagement at the same time. Our all-in-one direct marketing tools create flexibility to keep your business moving, no matter what the rest of the world is doing.
