You had the product launch all planned… Facebook and Instagram ads in place. Facebook Shop set up and ready to go. Facebook Live video script planned and scheduled to broadcast. Instagram contest set up. Facebook contest set up. Then it all came crashing down.

Both Facebook and Instagram went down and you have 100% of your web presence on those two sites. No website of your own – not even an online store.

There went your ads, Shop, live video, and contests. Everything you worked so hard for is blown out of the water.

Of course you can delay everything and wait for the sites to come back up. But when will they?

If you had your own website with an online store, at least you could still email your mailing list and get things rolling.

With your own website, you could even turn the crashed social media sites into a positive.

Think about it: by giving your list members first access, you reward them for being loyal and still achieve something for the launch. You could even send a short video that explains how the new product will help them, and offer a subscriber-only discount.

Is just doing that ideal? No. But it’s a heck of a lot better than having all your eggs in the Facebook and Instagram baskets and ending up with yolk on your face.

And you have no idea when the sites will come back up. Like everybody else, you’ll find out when they’re back up. Could be hours, could be days…

I’m still surprised at how many business owners rely solely on Facebook for their online marketing.

It’s crazy to give up control like that! Why leave your business in their hands?

Of course your own website can also go down, but you have control in that situation.

At the very worst, you could install a site backup on a different server, repoint the domain name, and you’re back in business.

Please, please, please, DON’T use Facebook or any other social media or free service as your website. Read my other articles about the risks of relying on Facebook, and the guy who lost 14 years of work on Blogger when they shut his site down without warning.

If you’re not sure of your best website options, you can book a free 15-minute consult with me.

Start acting like a real business owner. Take responsibility and control of your online presence. Use Facebook, Instagram, and any other social apps you like, but STOP using them in place of your own website.