Do you ever tick boxes for things, despite them not sitting quite right with you? But because it is a common step and a universally acknowledged and sensible thing to do, you just run with something anyhow.
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again. It seems like today, more than ever before, people have less and less free time and more things demanding time and attention.
Having a Facebook business page was a box that we ticked for some time. We had a page, it had our credentials on it, contact information, you know the rest.
We know that it is deemed to be a crucial, essential presence for a business.
We know that Facebook is a powerhouse and owns many apps that we love and use, such as Instagram.
We know that Facebook folk may find out that we removed our neat, friendly little business from its community and give us a big digital thumbs down (read: limit our reach on other apps!).
We know that it can be a phenomenal online space and community for businesses, groups and people to communicate from all corners of the globe to drum up business and projects.
We know that one day we may have more reasons to have a page, than not to, and may start one up again. This decision is reversible.
Facebook can do AMAZING things for people and businesses, we get it. Perhaps just not for us…
We even tried Facebook’s advertising, with several targeted campaigns. But – it did jack for us in terms of reach and numbers.
And really, although this lovely business of ours is growing and we find ourselves just loving new opportunities and where they are taking us, we just weren’t feeling Facebook as being key. It just isn’t key to our growth or an enjoyable facet of our work, if we are being honest.
We often gain new clients in person, through word of mouth, or by random chances. Tanya does plenty of work for clients in far-off places, such as the U.S.A. and India. These clients didn’t pop up on our Facebook Page.
Instead, we felt as thought our page was impeding on our family and friend’s feeds.
When people put their feet up and scroll through their feed for some mental down time and a switch-off from the real world, we didn’t feel like they wanted to see our latest listings, or musings about life as a hired writer.
Our clients and industry colleagues didn’t really need to spend time on our page – we have plenty of other means of communication. So really, getting a ‘like’ from my Mum, as kind as it was, felt like an indication that we didn’t have the reach we wanted, or needed really.
As copywriters, we sell a service, not a product. What we were showcasing on our page, specifically our organic content, really wasn’t being seen by anyone and wasn’t going to change anyone’s lives. Seriously.
We love our work, we are good at what we do, but we weren’t being rewarded by our time on Facebook and it didn’t feel like it was an avenue worth continuing.
We live in a world where people are shuffling around the streets like zombies with their heads down, finding imaginary anime characters (another post in itself!). We daresay that people really don’t want to trawl through the business page of someone who isn’t offering them a service relevant to them, when they can be spending time doing things they enjoy in their free time.
Ciao for now, Facebook.
There are plenty of articles floating around that weigh up the pros and cons of businesses breaking up with Facebook. Some of them had some really resonating points, but there was no particular literature that cemented the decision for us.
It just felt like a box we had ticked, but that our heart wasn’t in.
So we made a business decision to say goodbye to it!
Because when you run a business yourself you make these decisions and wear the consequences or rewards yourself. And it feels damn good to be authentic to our own thoughts and experiences.
So, we work in advertising.
We are professional marketing content writers.
We do use Facebook, in terms of having personal pages. It can provide a really wonderful space to make loved ones on different continents not seem so far away and, of course, to share messages, ideals and raise awareness.
But –
You won’t find The Property Writers creeping into your feed on Facebook (for now, at least!).
So see you elsewhere, folks! (Some not so subtle links below.)
