Many of us (ourselves included) rely heavily on social networking tools for our businesses. While Fashion Bomb Daily started off as a regular old blogspot, we now disperse most of our news, new arrivals to our store, and event details on the ‘Gram. But yesterday, business was put on hold as Instagram worked out its issues.
As many of you know, most of last year, our mothership @FashionBombDaily was disabled at 1.4 million followers. For 8 months, we were seemingly separated from our platform and forced to diversify. It was tough! Why? While we poured so much energy and attention into Instagram, we had allowed our other platforms to flounder. Whenever this happens, we are forced to realize that we don’t actually own our real estate on Instagram. Everything can disappear in the snap of a finger. So next time IG acts up, make sure you are ready to pivot in the following ways:
1. YouTube
We actually do have a Youtube page, YouTube.com/fashionbombtv, and while we’ve churned out some pretty amazing videos in the past, we definitely could be more consistent! Last night, when Instagram showed no signs of recovery, I did my first Youtube Live unboxing:
It felt pretty lonely out there, but no matter: we all start somewhere. Be as consistent with Youtube as you are with Instagram and sit back and watch the results. Videos on Youtube get 10 of thousands and sometimes millions of views. Commit yourself to regular updates, just as you would any platform. While websites might be seen as something of the past, video is the future. Cop some of my swag below:
2. Emails and Newsletters
We all have to check emails: Build up that email list! Go direct to inbox with your latest announcements, news, and events. Sign up for our mailing list below:
3. Events
Events saved us when we were going through our rough patch last year. Convos with Claire is a unique experience for fashion lovers to network in their corners of the world. People come to dress up, learn, and network! We were able to fill rooms with ticket paying guests, vendors, and sponsors with a very small social imprint.
Online is great, but in person still works. Be sure to nurture a community both offline and online. Our next event is in Memphis, Tennessee on April 20th! Get your tickets at CWCMEMPHIS.EVENTBRITE.COM. Want to bring CWC to your town? Email bookclairesulmers@gmail.com
4.Twitter
We went straight to Twitter when everything went down, and learned that we were not alone. We also used the occasion to drive traffic to YouTube, our website, and events. Be sure to follow us at Twitter.com/thefashionbomb.
5. E Commerce Or Your Own Website
If you pay for hosting with a website or an e-commerce site, and own the domain name, your content will always have a home. We were blessed to truly launch FashionBombDailyShop.com last year, and as always we have our home base, FashionBombDaily.com. Of course websites can have outages, but at least in those cases, you’ll be more in control of the outcome. While we were left to twiddle our fingers for hours with IG, not knowing if order would be restored, your domain hosting site undoubtedly has a technical team that can provide updates. Feel more secure with your own domain.
6. Get Your Own App
Though this article promised 5 tips, there is a 6th that is definitely worth your investment: your own App. Instagram is an app that was able to attract the attention of millions. Who’s to say you can’t create your own Bomb app that serves the same purpose? At the very least, you would have a destination that users can get to on their phones to access your content no matter what! FBD is working on an app as we speak. If you’d like to donate to our new technology, click here.
As incidents like yesterday should teach us, we are only leasing time on IG. It is beautiful while it’s here, but we should all create our own social/content backups in case anything happens again in the future.
What do you think?