Why you shouldn’t build your entire business on rented space – aka social media platforms
Did you know that you don’t own your social media accounts?
This week my Pinterest account was closed down! Years of work – followers, likes, images, shares – all gone in a moment. Pinterest is a search engine not just a platform for pretty pictures. So I can use it to effectively drive traffic to my blog and website.
Pinterest emailed me and said that I had ‘violated their spam regulations’. They went on to say: ‘On Pinterest, spam includes saving lots of unwanted or repetitive stuff, trying to game our systems, or posting fraudulent, deceptive or unsolicited commercial messages. We block spam like this because it creates a bad experience for other people on Pinterest. If you think we made a mistake, please click this link, and we will review your account within 48 hours.’
Of course I asked for a review and sure enough they came back 3 days later saying ‘Sorry it looks like we made a mistake’!!! Then when I checked my account all the likes, shares, followers, and accounts I had followed had been wiped out and although I put a support ticket in they came back with some lame excuse. None of that is coming back! I am happy that I at least have the boards, images and links to my blog and website but this shows how vulnerable you are if you rely solely on social media platforms to market your business.
2 Reasons not to build your business solely on platforms or sites you don’t own
- Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Pinterest and other social platforms are not owned by you. You have no control over your account. Tech glitches, violation of regulations and algorithms you may not understand and constantly change, are all outside your control. Although I have had my Pinterest account reactivated today, much of the work is still lost.
- Social media posts have a short life so you have to keep up the activity. Blog posts and website content can last for years on Page 1 of Google if your SEO (search engine optimisation) has been done thoroughly. You can collect names and contact details to build a database you can market to as well. This means that as well as the site you own this database. You have full control. No one else can take it away from you (as long as you have paid for your domain name and hosting!).
Should I include social media marketing as part of my strategy?
Yes, I absolutely think social should be included in your overall strategy. Everyone is on social media these days. It would be wrong to think you can leave social out. However, it is important that you realise social media platforms should only be a PART of your overall marketing strategy. If you lose your revenue stream on social media if the platform goes down, then you will have to start your business over. This is a waste this time and revenue and can be devastating.
If you need more information on setting up your funnel, then read How to Market Anything Online and Succeed.
If you need to generate another passive income stream alongside your current business, then get more information here.
We have designed and developed websites for 10 years. So if you would like to get one built get more information here.
