How to Protect Your Biz From a Social Media Disaster

“The bird is free.” The famous first words tweeted by Elon Musk right after he bought the company for 44 billion dollars. Oh, and fired the top 4 executives that had been there for 10+ years. Ever since Elon Musk took over Twitter, it has created quite a commotion. Whether you’re using Twitter for your biz or not, these are some super important updates you need to be aware of as to how they will affect you as a business owner. Here’s how to protect your biz from a social media disaster.

 

 

If you’ve been following me for a while you may be wondering why I’m even talking about Twitter. Most of my people are on TikTok or Instagram, and that’s where I spend a lot of my time and energy marketing my business too. However, what’s happening on Twitter right now is really crazy and it could totally happen on another platform as well. I want all of us to be prepared and know how to protect our businesses from anything like this, so let’s learn from Twitter and then hope for the best. 

We should get in the habit of looking at social media as a whole. It really hasn’t been around that long, maybe 15 years max, and because of that we don’t really know the whole life cycle and patterns of a social media business. And, we’ve never seen a billionaire buy an entire social media platform. This could just be the demise of Twitter. 

 

 

The Latest News on the Twitter Disaster

First of all, it was a huge deal when Elon Musk bought Twitter. The reason why he tweeted, “The bird is free.” is because he thinks there needs to be a social media platform where there can be more free speech. He believes there’s been too much censorship over what people post. 

Once he gets in there he immediately lays off some of the four top executives and nearly half of the longtime staff. He did this with the intention to make some enormous changes and turn Twitter into a whole new social media platform.

However, Musk firing all of those long-term employees left Twitter really unstable. There are people leaving the platform because they don’t like the direction that Elon Musk is taking it. This shouldn’t be surprising because Musk has never run a social media platform before, which means he probably doesn’t know the ins and outs of how it works. But, who does? All the people he fired. 

Elon Musk also issued an email recently to all of the Twitter employees and pretty much gave an ultimatum. He said they need to decide if they are in or out and if they’re in then expect long days and a lot of hard work. 

 

Twitter’s Blue Check Debacle

There was also the whole blue check debacle. The blue checks on Twitter mean that you’re a verified account. People need blue checks because if you’re famous there are tons of people who try to imitate you. So, the blue check helps people decipher who is the real or fake account.

Musk didn’t like this blue check system, so he made it so anyone could pay money to get a blue check. That decision sent shockwaves across the whole Twitter space because people were buying blue checks left and right without them being verified. This has insanely affected big-name brands and companies. 

For example, Eli Lilly, a pharmaceutical company, had an imposter have a blue check on their Twitter account and tweeted that insulin is now free. This plummeted Eli Lilly’s stocks dramatically. So, this new system Elon Musk put in place is allowing misinformation to be spread and is even affecting the net worth of businesses. 

This act alone made Twitter and Elon Musk pop up all over different headlines and made investors start to pull out of Twitter because they were noticing how unstable it is.  Now, Twitter is no longer in a place where investors can for sure get a return on their investment. 

 

 

How to Protect Your Biz From a Social Media Disaster

So, how does this whole Twitter mess apply to you if you don’t use Twitter to market your business? Well, you use social media, right? And another billionaire could come right in a purchase a different social media platform that you do use. What you know as your loyal social media platform could turn into a big mess overnight. Thankfully, it didn’t happen to you this time, but there’s no way of knowing if or when it will. 

If anything, this current event should remind us that the platforms we use are not ours. We do not own any part of it, including our followers. While I don’t think this scenario will happen to Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok, I do think we need to be aware of it and that the rules could change in an instant. 

Really, if something were to happen to Instagram where the rules changed, or there was a glitch, or whatever it is, would your business be ready for it?

 

Biz Protector Tip #1: Diversify your platforms.

There are so many different ways people consume social media content today, so you need to make sure you are covering a good size of the social media content pie out there. If you’re only focusing on one or two places, you’re missing so many more people that could become your loyal audience. 

The first step I would take in diversifying my platforms is setting up an email list. I would get as many followers on Instagram as possible to sign up for my email list. Starting here is the best option because it creates a space where you can start nurturing your people there in a more inclusive way AND you own your email subscribers there! 

Next, I would set up a website and set up a place where all of my long-form content can live. Long-form content is either a blog, podcast or YouTube channel. And, out of these three, YouTube is the best option. You can read more about why that’s true HERE. 

And, of course, you know what is best for your business right now. These are my suggestions, so I don’t want you to feel pressured or stressed if you are doing these things right now or not. You are on your own business journey and the best part about it is you get to decide when and what to do to help your business grow. 

 

 

Biz Protector Tip #2: Build a community.

You are going to see that those on Twitter who built a community will be able to move those same followers onto a different platform. The people will search for them on other platforms because they love and trust in that creator and want to continue to be a part of their community. 

Building a really strong community is going to be HUGE going forward. Learn more about why this is true HERE. You can build this strong community by really niching down and talking to that one specific person that you are meant to serve. 

 

Biz Protector Tip #3: Be scrappy and nimble. 

Remember the shutdown back in 2020? I know, it still seems too soon to talk about it. But I remember business after business calling me asking me what to do and how they would survive during a lockdown. This is when I started my Money Makers Coaching Group. Even though I felt like it was rushed and I wasn’t quite ready, I saw a need and I filled it. Looking back, I am so glad I just went for it because I was able to coach hundreds of business owners through that hard time and my coaching community has only grown ever since. 

While it was scary to launch my coaching community, I never second-guessed it because I knew in my gut that it was what I wanted to do and was meant to happen at the time that it did. If you ever have moments like that, just go for it. It could turn into something amazing or be an absolute bust, but either way, it will push you closer to who you are meant to become and who you are meant to serve. And I want both of those things so badly for you. 

 

 

How to Protect Your Biz From a Social Media Disaster

Alright, I really hope this post on how to protect your biz from a social media disaster helped you. If you never want to miss a marketing update, make sure you are subscribed to my email list HERE. And you can follow me on Instagram @iammichellegifford where I am constantly sharing the best tips and tricks you need to grow your biz in this crazy world. Good luck out there and I hope to chat with you soon!