Most of us use social media in one way or another, either personally or professionally. Either way, it can be devastating when it goes down – whether it’s your pastime/downtime or the means to getting awareness for your business/brand. Take a look at the measures you can take when your favorite social media, like Facebook, X, or TikTok, goes down.
Awareness of the Problem
Like any website/app, any social media you frequent, be it Facebook, X, or TikTok, will have its heartbreaking moments of not working. It happened to TikTok recently.
While TikTok was technically working, there were also some technical issues that caused users not to be able to see comments on videos or switch accounts. If your nightly habit is scrolling through videos and commenting and forwarding them, then checking on your work account to see how your brand is fairing, you were probably devastated.
Before you get too frustrated, you need to take a deep breath and figure out what to do next, especially if it happens at night, like it did to TikTok, so that you can get some rest that night.
Confirmation That Your Social Network Is Down
While many people make their first step to see if their favorite social media is working by checking with their friends, a better first step would be to check with Downdetector.
You can choose what you’re particularly having trouble with and see a chart showing when the problems were reported and how many, helping you to see just how many others are experiencing the same thing.
You can, of course, check with other forums/outlets and search the Internet for others. If nothing has been reported, either it’s at the very beginning of trouble, or you are experiencing something else on your side that you probably need to investigate.
Create a New Plan
If it’s your personal social media account that’s down, it’s not unmanageable. While it may be hard not to carry on without your habit, you just need to find something else to do for that time period, such as find some new podcasts, check out a new social network, etc.
If it’s your only way of contacting some friends and family, once you’re back online, make a note to get their phone numbers should this happen again so that you can still get a hold of them should you need to.
If it’s your business account that you’re not able to connect to, create a plan of how you will adjust once you’re back online. Determine what you will post and when, now that you’re losing some time.
You may want to check out a different social network to try to get back some of the publicity that you’re missing out on. Perhaps you’ll luck out, and it will work out better than the social network you’re already using.
This is also a good time to check what your engagement is and whether your concerns are worth it. Maybe the exposure on social media isn’t worth your time. Be sure to check out your analytics to find out what people are viewing when they look at your account. You may find that your energy is better spent elsewhere.
It doesn’t have to be a bad thing when your favorite social media network goes down. Perhaps it’s a good thing in the long run, as you may learn that you’re a bit too attached to your personal account or that your business/brand depends on it more than it should.
Were you hiding the fact that you were glad TikTok was down because it means your teen is spending time away from it all day? With TikTok fully back online, learn how to use the Time Away feature to force them into taking a break. Or, if you just need a break from social media, learn how one of our writers quit social media.
