As we head towards the end of another year, look back, reflect, how has business been for us? What could we have done differently? What did we do super well? What do we want to do more of heading into 2023?
Reflecting gives us a chance to work out what we want to let go of and what doesn't serve us anymore.
Reflecting gives us a chance to work out what we want to let go of and what doesn't serve us anymore.
I've been hearing from multiple business owners this year, in casual conversations as well as in discussions in my masterclasses and group coaching program, that many people have been feeling the need to let go of Facebook. Literally, deactivate their accounts and LEAVE FACEBOOK.
To be completely honest, this at times feels incredibly appealing! The frustration for us all is REAL!! Their complete lack of customer service, their focus on creators (which are actually only 5% of users!) the decline in organic reach, the increase of ad spend, the overwhelm at their endless roll out of changes to teh platform, the speeding up rather than slowing down of new features, the removal of favourite features, isn't it all exhausting?!!!
So I've sat with this thought around leaving, for quite some time. On a personal note, there are big things going on in my wee village with the possible amalgamation of our local, "The Bowlo" (the hub for our community, sporting clubs, events etc) potentially being brought out by a large city conglomerate and no longer being community board owned ... and whichever side you're on, the horror that's been unfolding in our local community Facebook group has been nothing short of horrendous. It's enough to turn anyone off the platform. There's never been a time that the term "keyboard warriors" has been more prevalent, and it's been harmful for mental health, relationships, friendships, and the community as a whole. Experiencing all of that has been enough to make anyone want to leave Facebook!
But on the flip side (and still on a personal note) when my husband broke his neck, Facebook was just in its infancy and Facebook groups were brand spanking new ... and so I started a Facebook group as a way to connect with others around the world in a similar situation as me. That group, 15 years later, is a wonderful success story, being such a great support and wealth of personal experience sharing and knowledge that so many people value it immensely. Without Facebook, how would we all have connected and supported each other?
But on the flip side (and still on a personal note) when my husband broke his neck, Facebook was just in its infancy and Facebook groups were brand spanking new ... and so I started a Facebook group as a way to connect with others around the world in a similar situation as me. That group, 15 years later, is a wonderful success story, being such a great support and wealth of personal experience sharing and knowledge that so many people value it immensely. Without Facebook, how would we all have connected and supported each other?
So, on deep reflection, what came back to me was a no. That I am meant to be here, because that's where my people are! That's where YOU ARE! As business owners we need to be where our people are ... for me that's not TIKTOK (eww, and phew 😅!) or Twitter (well, maybe you're there, but I don't want to be there!! 😝)
SO I realised ... being on Facebook is not easy right now. They changed the interface, can remove us at any time, close our accounts, remove our access to our Business Manager and more, can hide our posts for days and days. Have you noticed, your newsfeed is filled with posts that are 4 and 5 days old? In between the endless ads?!! Arrgghh. SO frustrating! There are words and topics that we need to completely avoid using ... (think, HEALTH!) and when issues do happen on the platform, there's no-one to help? WHY OH WHY can't they offer customer service?!! I'm an Apple user, and I truly thing their support is amazing. You can also choose to pay a little extra for AppleCare ... and then the support goes next level - it's really out of this world. Would you be prepared to pay a small fee just to get SUPPORT on Facebook? I WOULD!
Today, Facebook feels like being in a battle, and so many of us are weary. We're tired. It wears us down.
But here's the thing ... Letting go of what no longer serves is not letting go of what is hard. Sometimes what is difficult still serves us, and letting it go is an easy way out.
So instead of walking away, I'm changing the way I think about Facebook. Looking at the energy around my relationship with Facebook. The way I use the platform, and where I spend my time. I'm blocking toxic people, removing myself from groups that cause me stress. Staying in the groups that bring me joy! Communicating more with my people - both on my personal apge and in my groups.
I'm putting a NEW Facebook strategy plan in place, both for my personal use and for my business, because I'm rejuvenated and I WANT to be on the platform. I want to continue connecting. With friends from long ago, new people I'm meeting, sharing my knowledge and experience, giving value to my audience! I love hanging out in my Facebook groups - you can join the Hello Media group here, or Positive, Passionate Business Women here.
SO ... what can you do?
You can assess ALL your activities and efforts and decide if how you're using Facebook aligns with your values. You can assess this on all your platforms! Look at what you're doing with Facebook, are you looking at the positives, or focusing on the negatives?
You can look at your overall strategy ~ what's working on the platforms you're using? What's not working?
If you're still thinking of leaving Facebook, do you have a platform that can replace it, with the amount of community building possibilities that Facebook has with its groups feature? If you decide to totally pivot away, what would you need to do to make that happen, to export all your content out?
What can you test? Try A/B split testing! Try some paid ads! Try a Facebook group!
Be ruthlessly honest with yourself. Does Facebook still serve you, if you changed the way you viewed at it, and used it?
You can assess ALL your activities and efforts and decide if how you're using Facebook aligns with your values. You can assess this on all your platforms! Look at what you're doing with Facebook, are you looking at the positives, or focusing on the negatives?
You can look at your overall strategy ~ what's working on the platforms you're using? What's not working?
If you're still thinking of leaving Facebook, do you have a platform that can replace it, with the amount of community building possibilities that Facebook has with its groups feature? If you decide to totally pivot away, what would you need to do to make that happen, to export all your content out?
What can you test? Try A/B split testing! Try some paid ads! Try a Facebook group!
Be ruthlessly honest with yourself. Does Facebook still serve you, if you changed the way you viewed at it, and used it?
Remember what I said above: Letting go of what no longer serves is not letting go of what is hard. Sometimes what is difficult still serves us, and letting it go is an easy way out.
So instead of walking away, can you change the way you think about Facebook?
If you're staying, if you want more nice stuff in your Facebook life, connect with me!