If you clicked here on account of that headline, you’re probably wondering what’s going to happen to your lifeline to the social sphere.
Well, you can relax. Apart from some nasty denial-of-service attacks in recent days, Twitter and Facebook are still very much alive and well.
But that begs the question – what if Twitter, Facebook or any of your other favorite social networking sites shut down tomorrow – and didn’t come back? Could your business rebound? Would you still keep your followers and fans?
Here are a few ways to make sure the social networking end of your business doesn’t crack – even if you’ve put all your eggs in one basket.
Cast a Net and Reel them In
If you’re like me, you find it a challenge to try and keep up with every social networking service out there. You may have 1,000 or more followers on Twitter and a growing legion of fans on Facebook, but if one or the other goes down, you have no way of reaching those followers, friends or fans.
This is where having an email subscription AND RSS feed (subscribe here) can help tremendously. I use Feedblitz so that my subscribers can keep up-to-date via email, skype, all three messenger services (AOL, Yahoo and MSN) or Twitter.
The idea is to compel your Twitter followers, Facebook fans, etc. to subscribe to your email or RSS service which keeps them updated through your blog and not through a third-party social networking service.
Of course, you’ll still continue to use Twitter, Facebook and other social services the way you normally do – but if for some reason they go down – you’ll still be able to connect with your readers and subscribers through your blog and not rely entirely on those services to keep your business afloat.
You’ll also be able to cast a net and reel in customers and readers who prefer certain services. One might be a fanatical Facebook user. Another might be hooked to their RSS feed. Another might use email and occasionally Twitter. Having your blog as the central location “wheel” and social networking as “spokes” will make sure everyone stays up-to-date.
Will Third-Party Services Cut Off Your Cash Flow?
Keep in mind, this kind of service disruption can happen to third-party marketing sites as well, like Squidoo, Ezinearticles and Hubpages. If you’re relying on any of those free services as your main bread and butter – you’re only putting your income stream at risk.
Sure, it’s unlikely Squidoo and the others will go belly up anytime soon – but just think what would happen if Squidoo went entirely non-commercial or Ezinearticles became a paid subscription-only service. What if Hubpages banned off-site links?
Terms of service changes and business strategies are updated all the time. When (not if) this does happen, it pays to have your own website where, again, you’re in control. Even if a competitor reports your “golden egg” and it’s subsequently banned, having your own site ensures you’re not losing money while you’re in a panicky rush to create another stream of income.
Bottom line is this – don’t rely exclusively on the golden egg of social networking or hosting services to keep feeding you with a steady stream of customers and traffic. Use them correctly as the tools they were meant to be and you can be confident that your online business model won’t get “scrambled”.
