March 13th was a dark day in the world of social media. For what felt like ages, social media influencers, marketing professionals, and casual social media observers held their collective breath as they waited to hear if two of their favorite social media apps would return from the grave. Okay, maybe that’s a bit dramatic—but the hours-long shutdown of Facebook and Instagram did stir a slight panic, and longing for cat videos, in many of us. It was actually the longest Facebook shutdown to date, which led many business owners to question what they should do if this happens again in the future, and understandably so. Fortunately, Uptick is here to guide our followers through the next blackout and into the light.
Initial Response
While it may sound like an unnecessary step, the very first thing you need to do is make sure the error you’re experiencing isn’t due to a mistake on your end. There are so many reasons why this might occur—anything from internet connection failure to simple loading problems within your app. If, after checking all the possibilities, you learn that it really is a widespread platform error, it’s time to enter the next phase—taking advantage of the situation.
Staying Calm, Cool, and Collected
While social media shutdowns are one of the worst things that can happen to social media marketers, they are only a temporary failure. Instead of spending hours during the shutdown pulling your hair out and filling out new job applications, take this time to further plan out your content calendars and tweak other areas of your digital strategy! You can choose to see this moment as the worst part of your day, or as a chance to catch your breath and become a more efficient business in the downtime.
After the Fact
While this is a good time to take advantage of other tasks, there is no denying that a shutdown can create confusion with your running ads, planned posts, and more. The first thing that needs to be done once the dust settles is ensure that everything is running as normal—and make sure that you haven’t paid anything extra for the platform’s mistake! If you had ads running during hours of a shutdown, you can reach out for a credit for this wasted spend.
Planning Ahead for Next Time
Like many aspects of this thing called life, we can’t predict when things will get hectic in the world of social media—but we can prepare ourselves in order to limit the damage when a shutdown does occur. Spreading spend across multiple social media platforms provides the reassurance that content will still make it to your target audience. Another important way to prepare is having a plan in place to scale back spending on the shutdown platform once it returns to normal. This is to ensure that your money and time aren’t wasted any more than they have to be.
Work with a Professional Company
Partnering with a professional digital marketing company immediately takes these concerns off your plate, and lets those with the most experience take control! Uptick has seen and dealt with a wide range of social media problems, always ensuring that clients and their social pages are taken care of. Feel free to contact us for more information or for a free consultation!
