In the past week, we saw the Facebook network of applications (Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp) crash out for 6-12 hours (depending on where in the world you were). This put the spotlight on a fact that has been worrying for a while: we, the users, can’t control these platforms.
If social media are the only way you are consistently connecting with your community of prospects and customers, perhaps you should give some thought to adapting your communication strategy as you are entirely dependent on them for your campaigns. With the recent crash, it soon became evident that a number of businesses had launches fail (facebook lives were planned but could not take place, scheduled posts didn’t go live and advert boosting was impossible). Strategically relying only on social media for communication is a high-risk approach and is inadvisable.
So, how can you maximise the good of social media but mitigate the risk? Through building your own network of contacts: creating a database. With the innovation of social media, email and SMS databases have held less appeal for small businesses. It is an effort to gain the details of your prospects and customers and, similarly, it is an effort to create good communications to be sent out regularly.
While an email database may be the more familiar of the two, an SMS database isn’t to be overlooked. According to SimpleTexting, 62% of consumers have opted in to SMS texts from at least one business while 43% of consumers specifically have subscribed to one to three brands.
A database can be imagined as a garden, it needs regular and consistent attention. However, it is a great investment in a bespoke communication channel for your brand.
We’ll unpack this topic further in the blogs to come.