On Sunday morning, while scrolling through my social feeds, an influencer I follow with 4 million followers on Tik Tok was locked out of her account. I watched her full mental breakdown play out on her Instagram stories on how she will communicate with her audience. “Tik Tok is how I pay my bills.” Is something that she kept saying over and over through her tears. Watching her mental breakdown was heartbreaking and reassuring that when it comes to your business marketing, YOU CAN NOT continue putting all of your “eggs in one basket.”
She gets many bookings and collaborations through her Tik Tok account. TikTok is actually how she made a name for herself, to begin with. Then, go in one Sunday morning to post content and be locked out. It is literally my worst nightmare as a Social Media Manager.
In one of the final slides of her story, she was begging her followers to say something to Tik Tok and asking for any contacts at Tik Tok to try and make the situation right or at least petition them to turn her account back on.
The truth is Tik Tok, Instagram, and Facebook, all platforms, don’t owe you anything. They are businesses. They own your followers. If you go against the Terms and Conditions, that thing you’ve signed without reading, they can shut you down, and no amount of petitioning could get you turned back on. The only way you can own the right to communicate with anyone is to have them in your database and email list. I have been encouraging clients and non-clients with any following to build out an opt-in for an email database. Even if they never send a single email (a tale for another time), at least you have a way to communicate with your audience/following should something like this ever happen to you.
I see you working really hard on your digital marketing, I am encouraging you to find a way to build your email list. Even if you don’t send out a single email if you get locked out of one of your social accounts, you will always have somewhere to begin.
Here are a few suggestions to begin building your email list:
Add an opt-in pop-up to your website.
Ensure you gather email addresses when people request to join your Facebook Group.
Keep your email spreadsheet updated regularly.
Sprinkle in Social Posts where the call to action is to sign up for your email list.
As we begin to wrap up 2022 and think about 2023, I want to offer a challenge to you to become more conscious of building out your list.
I do not want to watch, you have a complete mental crying breakdown on a Sunday morning on your Instagram Stories ever. :o)
P.S. She did get full access and allowed back into her account, a happy denouement to an emotional conflict.