Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB)’s massive outage could have an impact on small companies relying on the Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram apps to sell their products. The incident has cost the internet giant $100 million in revenue according to Fortune estimates.
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Business Impact
Further, some small businesses might be turning away from the company as they also saw their operations and potential revenue affected. Jewelry designer Alex Rankin told BuzzFeed News, “I plan to have my own website soon so people can order off that. I cannot control Instagram.”
On a good day, Rankin can sell 25 handmade rings on her Instagram store, accounting for earnings of $150. However, during the Facebook crash, she sold none, which affected her operations and left her looking at other alternatives.
“Without social media, I wouldn’t have a business. It’s how I advertise my rings and how I take my orders for the rings, and how I get my page out there,” she said.
In response to the event, Facebook issued an apology that read: “To everyone who was affected by the outages on our platforms today: we’re sorry. We know billions of people and businesses around the world depend on our products and services to stay connected. We appreciate your patience as we come back online.”
Becoming Self-reliant
Daisey Miller also became aware of how reliant on Instagram her wellness and beauty business is, as she uses the platform to connect with potential customers. She told BuzzFeed, “Instagram is basically how I run my entire business, and I would say 95% to 99% of my clients reach out to me for the first time on Instagram.”
She estimates losses at hundreds of dollars in clients she could not contact or appointments that could have been booked.
“It made me realize that I do need to do more, and so it's really urged me to finish up with a website, and I think I'm going to start a newsletter where people will give me their emails, even if they're not current clients of mine.”
Bran marketing agency Doers said through its cofounder Jess Sims: “We always recommend working with your brand-owned channels, so things like your website, your email database. They're ones that you can always rely on being there, and you have full control over them.”
Facebook is part of the Entrepreneur Index, which tracks 60 of the largest publicly traded companies managed by their founders or their founders’ families.
