Amazon Site Down Again

Today the major online retailer, Amazon.com, had a brief period of service disruption in the US. Data compiled by downdetector.com showed that 2:19 PM, the site had over 10 thousand reports of trouble of either logging on, or loading site at all.

Map provided by Downdetector.com at 3:00 PM; Google Earth TOS applys (https://www.google.com/intl/en-US_US/help/terms_maps.html)

While most parts of the country were back up by 3:00 PM, Los Angeles and several other major cities still reported the site down.

Last year, Amazon took over as the worlds biggest retailer, reported the LA Times. Even a short time down is a big deal. Web content providers often depend on revenue from Amazon's Associate program to keep content free for their readers. If readers can't complete a purchase, they may choose to not make a purchase, or visit later instead. This keeps blog writers and other content providers from getting their 4 or 6 percent referral fee.

Amazon.com has yet to comment on the outage.

Creative Content Writing Services is available for all your content needs, including social media profile management. Contact me at Christine Emmick on Facebook with your content request.

Be in It to Win It - The Small Business Social Media Game

Source: Wikimedia Commons Bukk

I recently shared a need on my Facebook page for snow tires, and in less than 4 minutes I had a local auto repair company reach out through a mutual friend. I checked the ratings on their Facebook page, and made a purchasing decision.

The whole thing happened in less than 11 minutes.

Not all of your small business leads will come from social media, but when they do, response time is crucial. Be slow on the uptake, and your customers will move on.

But when you constantly monitor social media, you might miss a lug nut. Psychology experts in media like Eli Brown agree that social media multi-tasking is a myth that costs hundreds of billions of dollars each year in the form of lost productivity.

So how do you serve current clients without missing new ones? Here are some ways to respond to new leads, while keeping up with your current customers:

• Use Alerts - If your line of work allows, set email alerts so you know right when a potential customer comments on a post or sends you a message. That way you only have to monitor one thing, your email, instead of multiple social media accounts.
• Time Posts - Many social media sites allow you to write a post, then have it appear later, when traffic is heavier. This means you can devote off work hours to write a few posts, then time them to appear later, when your customers are looking, and you are working.
• Consider Hiring Help - Let's face it, following all social media accounts can be overwhelming, even for the professionals. Running a small business with limited resources often necessitates bringing in help for things like marketing, even if it is just temporarily.

Hiring someone to manage communication for you can help direct leads, provide information to customers and answer complaints almost instantaneously. This means happier customers, who talk about their experience with connections, and well informed potential clients ready to buy. Services often include creating engaging and informative posts that get people chatting about your company, or entertaining posts that will get shared with friends.

Creative Content Writing Services is available for all your content needs, including social media profile management. Contact me at Christine Emmick on Facebook with your content request. I will get back to you quickly, I promise. ;)