Who run the world?

“Gurrls” is what Beyonce Circa 2011 will tell you.

She isn’t right at all.

Alphabet run the world, And so do Facebook, or as it is now known, ‘Meta’.

In case you didn’t know, Alphabet Inc is the entity that owns Chrome, Google, Google Maps, Android, YouTube, Adsense & DoubleClick, Picassa, Hangouts, and many more.

Meta, as well as being Facebook, also owns WhatsApp and Instagram. And, if you were to survey the entire world and ask them ‘who has access to the internet’ and ‘who has Facebook?’, more people will tell you they have Facebook than will tell you they have access to the internet. Why?

Because they run the world, that’s why.

It’s actually a lot more complicated than that; in some places Facebook actually are the internet provider, some people have intermittent access to the internet and always use Facebook when they get access, and in some areas, Facebook is so intertwined with the idea of the internet it is considered the internet.

People use Google and Facebook as a search engine for businesses. And Facebook and Google are going to continue to do as much to make those searches as accurate as possible.

Both will also continue to offer services to businesses too. In 2018 Google drastically expanded its offerings to businesses with its G-Suit (worth checking out!) and Facebook’s ad manager, which integrates with Instagram will become more powerful even though it is taking a massive hit with Apple’s push for privacy, which may make ads less targetable.

What to do about it

Firstly, comply with their rules.

Don’t try to get reviews by rewarding reviewers, or by paying review companies.

Don’t try to do silly tricks to get your website more views, don’t get all of your friends and employees to watch your YouTube videos over and over again to make it look like the whole world is watching it.

They run the world, don’t try to cheat them!

Secondly, side with them.

Get great business listings on their accounts and use their whole platform.

Be active on Facebook and Instagram and ensure your ‘Google My Business’ page is updated often.

Most importantly, get reviews on their platforms! If other companies are trying to be the search engine for businesses, they are going against Facebook and Google, and that is a battle your business is going to be involved in.

The question is which side do you want to be on? Do you want to put all of your listing efforts into “businesssearchpilot.com” or whatever the next one is called? Or do you want to make sure it’s Google and Facebook that have your attention?

I know what I would choose, I wouldn’t even hedge my bets and do a bit of both.

This year, I am going all-in on Facebook and Google (and Bing too). I expect my listings and profiles to grow in review numbers, followers and content throughout the rest of this year. And, I’ll be starting from scratch myself – if I can do it any business can.