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What the Great Facebook Outage Taught Marketers About Email

Posted by IndustrySelect on Wednesday, October 20, 2021

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The great Facebook outage on October 4th upset many who couldn't post pictures of their meals or their pets for a few hours. For manufacturers and other companies, the outage was much more devastating.

A large number of companies rely on Facebook and its related services for their B2B marketing strategies. These companies lost millions of dollars during the outage, which was the largest since 2019.

This event underscores the importance of having alternative methods of communication, like email.

How the Facebook Outage Affected Small Businesses and B2B Advertising

As crazy as it may sound, a manufacturer of false eyelashes estimates that it lost $10,000 in revenue during the 2019 outage. Ten thousand dollars is a drop in the bucket to a multi-million dollar corporation. However, it's a large part of a small- to medium-sized business’s (SMB) advertising revenue.

When Facebook and its related companies like Instagram fail, SMBs worldwide find themselves holding the short end of the stick.

During the more recent outage in October 2021, Snopes estimates that Facebook lost around $79 million in ad revenue. While the outage only lasted for six hours, they were six critical business hours for companies in the US. Given that SMBs make up 80% of Facebook’s income, small manufacturers selling their products on this platform took quite a hit.

Bare Kind, a domestic producer of bamboo socks, relies solely on Facebook for its sales. At first, the owner didn't notice the Facebook outage. But by the end of the day, she found that her sales were only one-fourth of a normal sales day.

Marketing Diversification

One lesson that SMBs should take away from the recent Facebook outage is that they shouldn’t put all their marketing eggs in one basket.

Currently, 66% of US companies report engaging with Facebook on a weekly basis to advertise their wares. Companies that rely on Facebook and its related products lost those six hours and that potential revenue.

Your manufacturing company has (or should have) a business continuity plan. Your marketing campaign should also have an outreach continuity plan. This should include a backup for social media crashes. The time and money that would have been spent on ads and other social media outreach efforts can transfer to other platforms.

Social Media Marketing Versus Email

Social media marketing is the new kid on the block. It’s where all the hip and trendy people advertise and look for products, right? That outlook is partially correct. Social media marketing IS the new kid on the block, but it doesn’t out-perform more traditional methods such as email.

Return on investment (ROI) is your company’s sole purpose for a marketing plan. Given that fact, the following figures should guide you in spending your marketing time and money:

• The average email click-through rate is 2.5%; social media is 0.07%.
• The estimated ROI for email is 3800%; social media is 28%.

Email Benefits

One of the main reasons that email tends to be the better value is the fact that it is targeted. If your company casts a wide net through social media, you may catch a few fish. If you target your message through email, you will spear more fish. In fact, nearly 51% of customers note that marketing and advertising emails are the prime driver of their decision to purchase.

Another selling point for email is that the average business owner checks his or her email several times each day. Over half of social media users check their email before doing anything else - including checking other social media outlets. In fact, 21% of emails are opened within an hour.

Furthermore, social media platforms are primarily that – social. They work well to get your company name out to a large audience, but that audience isn’t necessarily engaged with your company. But rather, they will likely scroll right past your ad.

On the other hand, a targeted email with a personalized subject line results in a 62% higher open rate than a generic email, proving that customized advertising performs better than casting a wide net.

Trusted Partners

IndustrySelect, a service of MNI, maintains current contact information for more than 400,000 US-based manufacturers. It also publishes pertinent studies and market trends to help your company get the highest ROI from your B2B emails.

If your company wants to sell your product to other manufacturers, IndustrySelect is your partner. If your company needs to find a manufacturer to provide a product or service to your company, MNI's industrial marketplace IndustryNet also shows you the data you need to make your best decision.

Click here to try out a free demo of IndustrySelect today and start connecting with manufacturers immediately.

Further reading: 85 Email Marketing Statistics Every Marketer Should Know

 

Want to keep up with the latest sales and marketing trends and exclusive industrial statistics from MNI? The free weekly IndustrySelect Insider email is the industry's top source for sales, marketing and industrial news you can't find anywhere else. Subscribe here.




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