About 6 or 7 years ago, I deleted all things Facebook. Accounts on any Meta app, gone. That was for personal reasons; I was over the need to check things and keep tabs on people I’m friends with only in the Facebook sense.
Facebook was dead as far as I was concerned. It was nothing but loose connections (nothing wrong with these) and groups that I never participated in.
Three years ago, my family and I moved to a small country town. We escaped small house blocks and inflated home prices for acreage and a feeling of getting house value for money.
And suddenly Facebook reappeared in my life. Small towns run on Facebook. To my horror, most businesses on our main street treat their Facebook page as their website. Tragic.
Soccer clubs use Facebook and Messenger groups. School moms (and even dads; gasp) use WhatsApp groups. The running club is on Facebook. The local and charming Little Theatre does business through Facebook.
I’ll admit, I groan and roll my eyes like a cooler-than-thou 13-year old every time I have to open Facebook for one of these activities. But after a few years of using it again, it clicked.
Facebook is relevant. Instagram is relevant. WhatsApp is relevant. If you’re like me, this may come as a surprise. Or maybe you already knew this.
There is a reason for this note: it’s easy to dismiss platforms and channels out of personal distaste or general “over it-ness”. I don’t expect to find Accoil customers on Facebook, but it’s made me wonder what else I default dismissed and ignore. What other assumptions do I make that I need to check?
Who knows? Maybe there are customers there waiting to be seen. If they are there, it may be a channel that actually cuts through all the noise if all the usual places they hear from brands like ours.
Peter
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