What losing my Facebook account taught me about owning a website
Losing my Facebook account or any social media account in fact really taught me an important lesson about building an online business: you need something you actually own.
Social media can be fantastic for getting noticed, connecting with people and driving traffic. Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and LinkedIn can all put your business in front of thousands of potential customers. But there is one big problem with relying on social media alone.
Why a blog?
I believe a blog is one of the best foundations for an online business because it gives you somewhere you control to share your knowledge, build an audience and attract traffic over time.
Unlike social media, where you are relying on somebody else’s platform, your blog is your own online property. You decide what you publish, what products or services you recommend and how you want to build your business.
Why Having A Blog Important These Days
A blog can also become a valuable source of free traffic. When you create useful content that answers questions people are already searching for, your articles can appear in Google, Bing and increasingly in AI-powered search results. You may not see huge traffic overnight, but good content can continue attracting visitors months or even years after you publish it.
For me, blogging is also about building something that can grow with you. You can use your blog to promote affiliate products, build an email list, recommend your own services, share your experience or simply establish yourself in a particular area.
I have been building my online business for years, and I believe having your own website gives you a much stronger foundation than relying entirely on social media platforms you do not control.
You don’t own the platform.
Your account, your reach and your ability to connect with your audience can all depend on decisions made by a company you have no control over. Algorithms change, organic reach can fall, accounts can be restricted and platforms can change their rules at any time.
I experienced this myself when I lost access to my Facebook account. It made me realise just how important it is to have your own website and not build your entire online business on someone else’s platform.
That’s why I believe social media should be part of your strategy, but it shouldn’t be your whole strategy.
Your website gives you a place where you can build your brand, publish your content and create an online business that isn’t dependent on one social media platform.
You can still use social media to bring people to your website, but your website becomes the foundation of your online business.
Build on platforms you don’t control, but make sure you have something you do control.
Why relying on social media alone is risky
Social media can be excellent for getting attention, but attention is not the same as owning an audience.
You might spend years building a Facebook page or Instagram following and have thousands of followers. That sounds impressive, but you still rely on the platform to show your content to those people. If the algorithm changes, your reach can fall.
You could have 10,000 followers and still find that only a small percentage of them see a particular post. The platform decides what appears in people’s feeds, and those decisions can change without warning. This is one of the biggest social media risks for businesses.
Social media marketing can work extremely well, but it should be treated as one part of your marketing rather than the foundation of your entire online business.
Recommended: How to Build a Successful Blog and Stay in Control
Social media algorithms can change
One of the biggest problems with depending on social media is that you are working within somebody else’s system.
Social media platforms regularly change their algorithms. Content that performed well previously might not receive the same exposure later. The type of content being promoted can change, the amount of organic social media reach can change and the platform can introduce new rules.
This does not mean social media is bad for business. Far from it.
Social media can be a fantastic source of traffic when it is used properly. The important point is not to build your entire business around something you do not control.
Think of social media as a traffic source. Your website should be the destination.
You don’t control your social media account
Another reason online businesses shouldn’t rely on social media alone is simple. Your account belongs to the platform. I learned this lesson personally.
Facebook alone disabled my account after I had used it for around 12 years. That meant losing access to years of content and memories that I had built up on the platform.
I appealed the decision, but unfortunately that did not help. The account remained disabled.
That experience really made me think about how much we can build on somebody else’s platform and how quickly we can lose access to it.
It was one of the reasons I decided that building my own blog and website was so important.
I wanted somewhere that I had much more control over my content and my online presence. Instead of having everything sitting on a social media platform, I could publish my own articles on my own website and build something that was not completely dependent on Facebook or any other social network.
This is not about saying that social media is bad. I still believe it can be a valuable source of traffic and exposure.
The lesson for me was simply not to put everything in one place.
Why an online business needs its own website
Your website is one of the most valuable assets you can build online.
Unlike a social media profile, your website is not dependent on people scrolling through a feed to discover your content. People can find your pages through Google, Bing, AI search, links from other websites, email and social media. A website also gives you much more control over your brand.
You decide what information appears on your pages, how your website looks and what you want visitors to do next.
For an online business, this can make a huge difference.
A blog can also become a long-term source of traffic. Instead of creating a social media post that may disappear from people’s feeds within hours, a useful blog article can continue attracting visitors from search engines for months or even years.
That is one of the reasons blogging remains such an important part of an online business strategy.
Build an audience you can keep
Another important part of building an online business is creating an audience that you can communicate with directly. An email list is a good example.
When someone joins your email list, you have a direct way to communicate with them rather than relying on a social media algorithm to show them your latest post.
The same principle applies to your website.
Someone who regularly visits your blog is choosing to visit your own online property. You are not completely dependent on a social media platform deciding whether your content should appear in front of them.
This is sometimes described as building an owned audience.
The idea is simple. Use social media to attract attention, but give people somewhere else to go.
That could be your website, blog, email list, YouTube channel or another platform that forms part of a wider online business strategy.
Don’t depend on one source of traffic
Traffic is the lifeblood of an online business. Without visitors, it is difficult to generate leads, sales, affiliate commissions or other forms of online income.
The mistake is putting all your traffic into one basket.
An online business can receive traffic from Google, Bing, social media, YouTube, Reddit, email marketing, referrals, online communities and paid advertising.
You do not need to master every traffic source at once.
The important thing is to avoid becoming completely dependent on one.
For example, social media might be sending you visitors today, while search traffic gradually grows through your blog. Your email list can bring visitors back to your website, while YouTube can introduce new people to your brand. This creates a much stronger online business.
If one traffic source slows down, you still have others working for you.
How to use social media alongside your website
The answer is not to stop using social media. Social media can be extremely useful when it works alongside your website.
A good approach is to create valuable content on your website and then use social media to help people discover it.
You might publish a detailed blog post and then share parts of that article on Facebook, LinkedIn or other platforms. You can create a YouTube video around the same subject and direct viewers back to your website. One piece of content can therefore be used in several different ways.
This is much more effective than constantly creating random social media posts without having somewhere useful to send people.
Your website becomes the central hub, while social media becomes one of the channels bringing people to it.
Social media should support your business, not control it
There is nothing wrong with building a strong social media presence.
In fact, social media can be one of the best ways to build awareness, communicate with potential customers and create a community around an online business.
The problem starts when social media becomes the business. There is a big difference.
If your website, content, email list and other traffic sources continue working even when one social media platform changes its algorithm, your business is in a much stronger position.
You are building something that is not completely dependent on somebody else’s platform.
That is the approach I believe online businesses should take. Use social media.
Use it to get attention, build relationships and generate traffic. But don’t put everything you have built into someone else’s hands.
Build something you control
Building an online business takes time. Whether you are blogging, selling products, promoting affiliate offers, providing services or creating digital products, the goal should be to build assets that become more valuable over time.
Social media can help you build all of these things, but it should not be the only place where your business exists.
The internet is constantly changing, and social media platforms will continue to change with it. Algorithms will change, new platforms will appear and older platforms will become less popular. That is normal.
The businesses that are best prepared are the ones that are not relying entirely on one platform for their customers and traffic.
For me, the simple message is this. Use social media, but don’t rely on social media alone.
Build your own website. Create useful content. Build an email list. Explore different traffic sources and give people a reason to come back.
My own experience with Facebook was a good reminder of why this matters. After 12 years of content being on one platform, losing access showed me that you cannot assume an account or platform will always be there.
That experience was one of the reasons I built my blog. Social media can help people discover your business, but your website can give them somewhere to stay.
That is a much stronger foundation for building an online business for the long term.
Recommended: How to Build a Successful Blog and Stay in Control
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. Online business results vary and there are no guarantees of traffic, sales or income. Always research any business opportunity, product or service carefully before spending money.