The Danger Of Building Your Software Business Entirely On Facebook
This write up is not point fingers at Facebook, but mainly to give software business owners a heads up, if they are planning to create an app/software that completely depends on Facebook in order to function.
Facebook is the largest social network in the world – no arguments there – but they sure know how to hit businesses “below the belt”; especially if you go against their “rules”.
I got an email recently from a software company I have been using their product (passively) on my fanpage for the past 5 years that they are closing shop because Facebook has decided to change some rules. I really felt for them, as they have a good product.
I run most of my business online, and Facebook is the #1 platform I use when I’m looking to advertise, mainly because they have a brilliant way of letting you narrow down your ad targeting (other platforms do the same, but Facebook’s system really stands out for me).
So, back to the software issue…
If you are building an app or software business, you need to consider a lot of things before taking the leap; especially if your app/software is going to be entirely dependent on any social media network (mainly Facebook) to function.
Contest apps/software companies took the hit a few years back because Facebook changed their policies regarding contests run on the platform. This was due to a lot of misuse from business owners, such as making certain promises within their contests which were unrealistic and some never fulfilled; Facebook wasn’t happy about that.
These apps/software are mainly ones linked to fanpages, and they have made a huge difference for business owners through the years. Things such as lead generation, sales, increase in fan base, content going viral through shares and comments, etc, were easily achieved. Facebook loves idea of keeping people within the platform, than send them off to another website.
In order to function as a software business on Facebook, you need to “play by their rules” (I know how that sounds, but that’s just the way it is). If you feel these rules should not apply to your business, then it’s best not to go there, because you’ll end up having your entire work shut down with just a click of the button.
In the case of using Facebook’s advertising platform, I have had my Ad disapproved because of their 20% text rule within the Ad image, but seen other Ads run that break the same rule and still slipped through. Based on that, one might ask – “what gives?”
So, if you’re planning to setup a software business via Facebook, be sure to put a lot of things in perspective, and figure out what needs to be in place, just in case “the rules change”. No one can really predict what Facebook will do next, and it’s best not to have the rug pulled from under your feet.
Your Turn…
What experiences have you had within Facebook that affected your business? Leave your comments below and also share this post to your network using the buttons below.
Thanks for reading – All the best!
