With Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp having all gone down due to a global outage, it’s a reminder to keep our options open when planning how we reach out to your clients and customers. More than that, we have to look hard and close at the baskets we hold our eggs in.

Why people rely on social media

There are several good reasons why businesses continue to sign up for an account on their social media platforms of choice:

• It’s a fast and easy way for your company’s brand to reach people 
• It helps create brand awareness and customer loyalty
• It’s guaranteed to reach your target audience in your desired areas – the more specific you design your ads, the likelier they’ll be seen by customers you want to reach out to
• Having an account helps you stay on track of what your customers are searching for or shopping for
• Great SEO – social media sites are so well-known and ingrained into our society today, and so Google tends to rank listed businesses with an active profile on social media high up on its front page
• Because of its SEO potential, social media can boost your business’s visibility online

For all its ups that social media has, however, there is a down.

What happens when you sign up for social media?

Technically, when you sign up for a business account on your social media platform of choice, there’s a kicker: you don’t own your account. The social media company does. 

In the last couple of years, we have seen successful companies thrive on their social media accounts, only to leave all of their eggs in that specific basket until their social media account is either hacked or deleted…and they lose everything, their followers, the time invested in creating posts, the work of it all. It’s a brutal fact that this can and does happen.

However, you are guaranteed a great deal more control in communicating with your clients through emails and even notices on your website. 

A reminder about the advantages of newsletters

Newsletters are a tried and true means to reach out to your customers! You are in control of their design, who they are sent out to, which email it’s coming from—everything! The same applies to your website.

• Several secure platforms are available, Mailchimp and Mailer Lite being popular choices
• 100% control over your newsletter’s design, from pictures to text, meaning you can make your message customizable so it’s more engaging with your audience as a result
• Option to add videos and GIFs
• Great tool to use in marketing campaigns, launches, exclusive promotions, and coupons
• Direct connection to your intended audience—yes it requires getting email addresses, however email is where people will go if social media goes down!
• You can give people the freedom of choice to subscribe via your website
• Low risk with high rewards—by subscribing, your audience has indicated they’re open to receiving emails from you and want to hear from you, and it doesn’t cost you much to design (especially if you have a free account!)

We are not at all willing to give up on social media, however always keep in mind that your marketing strategies should use different channels and relying on social media only is too much of a high risk.

At KIAI Agency we offer social media services and also provide beautifully designed newsletter campaigns and customized marketing opportunities for businesses. Contact us if you’d like to learn more about our services!