Why You Shouldn’t Panic When Instagram Goes Down (And It’s Not What You Think)

by | Jul 10, 2019 | Business, entrepreneur, Social Media

When that little circle just spins and spins, people tend to start freaking out. INSTAGRAM IS DOWN! FACEBOOK ISN’T WORKING!!!!! WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO!?!?! 

Get on with business, that’s what. 

We love the online space. It’s kinda our jam. But you know what? It’s not our only jam. Because, you know, we have zero control over these platforms and their functionality. It’s been down 4 times by our count this year already.  Depending on social media as your main point of contact for business is sort of like putting all your eggs in one basket. 

We saw a lot of posts last week about what to do when Instagram or Facebook goes down – deep breaths, pin on Pinterest, work on your email list, write other content.  

We’ve got some different advice: Get offline and get connected with your local community.  

There are a whole bunch of people out there who could help you along with your business, either as clients, customers, or advocates. But if you are staying behind your screen focusing on the world-at-large, you’re never going to be able to tap into your local community and develop solid relationships which can lead to a steady stream of referrals.  

We are big fans of networking, in case you haven’t caught on yet. We’re going to share with you a few ways that we tap into our local communities for some fantastic in-person networking that help us grow our business. Some approaches are more of the traditional ‘shake-hands-and-say-hello’ kind, while others are more relaxed and casual. 

Join A Formal Networking Organization 

Formal networking organizations can seem a little intimidating, boring, and maybe even rigid. But here’s the thing: they’ve got a serious networking strategy in place that is designed to benefit their members. Organizations such as BNI or your local Chamber of Commerce can provide you with access to events, meetings, and the opportunity to educate people in your community about what it is you do. These kinds of organizations typically require a certain level of commitment, which if you can make the commitment, you’ll find you gain a whole crowd of people who are happy to learn about you and recommend you to others. 

Seek Out Informal Networking Events 

We love these kinds of events because usually they are fun, social, and involve a delectable appetizer or cocktail. In Kitchener-Waterloo, we love events hosted by Holistic Parent Magazine, where Elaine takes an educational approach with her events. She stays in touch with her audience base (ie, small businesses who advertise with her) and constantly collects feedback on what they want to learn about to help them build their own businesses. Up in Barrie, we’ve been diggin’ events hosted by Shannon over at The Social Project, who creates events to connect female entrepreneurs and start conversations on topics that matter to them.  Here’s the thing though with these chill and fun events: you need to make sure that you are 1) going to get something of value out of it and 2) that a portion of the attendees align with your target audience OR have a good connection to your target audience. Going to an event just for fun is fun, but if you are hoping to get a business benefit out of it then make sure the event is a yes to at least one of the 2 things we just mentioned. 

Turn Your Online Tribe Into Your In-Person Tribe 

For us, our goal with social media is to build awareness with our desired audience and then get those people into an off-line situation. As in a phone call or an in-person meeting. Social media is also an awesome place to find your local tribe so you can connect with them #IRL (that’s ‘in real life’ in case you weren’t sure!). For us, we look for other women who are doing the entrepreneur thing either on their own or with a small team. Essentially, we’re looking for people in our community who can relate to what it’s like building and growing your own business. In some cases, we niche down and we totally tap into the mompreneur crowd or the brand and social media crowd. Find people in your community who you  have something in common with and meet up for a biz chat. Make it clear that it’s not a social call, but that you would love to build up your local biz tribe. Coffee dates, meals, or even coworking days.   

Now of course, when those pesky platforms fail, we won’t exactly have our schedules clear so that we can set up a networking date. But when they do fail, you won’t have to panic at the thought that you are now out of touch with your audience for who knows how long because you know that you’ve got a strong local network who is out there working for you too. But if you do have the opportunity to set a coffee date, why not? Make that call and go do a little biz talk. 

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