As we’ve learned with a string of recent outages, Gmail, Facebook, Instagram. There is nothing certain about the internet. With more and more people relying on it daily for communication. What would happen if everything stopped? Could you still network, or would your business fail? Let’s find out!

No email? No problem!

One of the biggest issues with internet or other communication outages is they happen in an instant. It’s your average Tuesday afternoon with nothing but clear skies and sunshine ahead… and then it happens. Your email goes down. What do you do? Well hopefully you have prepared for this!

I strongly recommend having an alternate email address through a different provider. The odds of two large providers having catastrophic failures at the same time is rare.  Additionally, I like to keep multiple methods of contact for clients in a CRM system as a fail safe. Finally, before every meeting, I always ask for a personal phone number for the person just in case.

Social Media is down! What can I do?

Businesses and individuals alike rely on social media for information including events, opportunities, or just plain keeping in touch. What do you do when Facebook goes offline?

Businesses

If you’re a business participating in the wonderful world of social media I believe it is key to participate in multiple areas. LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, and YouTube are some of the big platforms worth considering. Not only does this help reach a wider audience, but if one network goes offline, you can still communicate through others. Be selective about which you choose. Don’t participate in a social channel just because you think you should. Make sure you have a plan in place and that your participation is moving your business toward a goal.

Individuals

Similar to businesses, I strongly recommend participation in multiple channels when appropriate. Take into consideration your goals of using social media. If it is finding local events, and Facebook is down, look elsewhere online. Search Google, browse local websites like chambers and event organizers, and even local news stations websites can be a great source of event information.

By now you’re probably starting to notice a recurring theme, redundancy. There is no better solution to a problem than prepping for that problem in advance. Think about your current communication strategies and what would happen if they ceased to exist. Could you still network?