A moment in recent history
Who remembers that memorable day in October of 2021, when the social media giant Facebook and its subsidiaries, became globally unavailable for a period of about seven hours? The inaccessibility of Facebook and its family of apps that day disrupted communications on the platform used by billions of individuals and businesses. In hindsight, businesses were cut off from their customers, some jobs were put on hold and the social media world was on stand still.
“To the huge community of people and businesses around the world who depend on us: we're sorry. We’ve been working hard to restore access to our apps and services and are happy to report they are coming back online now. Thank you for bearing with us.” META, October 5, 2021 on Twitter.
Where traditional marketing comes in
Traditional marketing simply refers to any type of marketing that isn't online. Some of these media include: posters, billboards, magazines, newspapers, television, radio, etc. Traditional marketing plays a very vital role in instances when digital marketing fails. During the Facebook blackout, businesses that did not have the capacity to run a website or a television advert or a street billboard were completely cut off from their customers with no promise of resolve. A big lesson learnt by every social media user that conducts business online is that traditional marketing is still relevant and goes hand in hand with digital marketing campaigns.
The best of both worlds
Running a business on social media by way of marketing or even buying and selling has proved to be one of the easiest and most cost effective ways, having a wide audience reach. Social media helps brands to connect with their customers and share expertise. Social media gives you an opportunity to talk about what you know and what you want to be known for. It is however important to incorporate traditional media in your marketing campaigns as well as creating a company website where you can conduct your business in the event that a social media blackout were to happen again.