What You Can Learn From Facebook’s Incredibly Successful Business Roll-Out.

Facebook is a website that has changed the world. But it could have been a very different story. In fact, the odds were against it from the start.

For one, Facebook was not the first social network by any means. MySpace pretty much had this area wrapped up and offered more features. Secondly, Facebook was built by just one guy in his dorm room. It had no big money behind it, and there was no reason for it to take off.

And yet it did. 

So, if you’re looking to create your own visionary Business service or product, the question to ask is: Why was Facebook Business such a success? And what can you learn from it?

How Facebook Business Used a Slow Rollout to Conquer the World

One of the most notable aspects of Facebookís launch is how it had a slow rollout. Rather than simply releasing to the world on day one, Facebook was initially only available for Harvard students. After a while, it became available to select other colleges. Eventually, it went international. Then it let businesses in. You get the idea.

This is likely a large part of what made Facebook Business so successful. Imagine if it had gone live around the world on day one. Why would you sign up for a social network with no one on it? It would seem empty.

But by launching in Harvard first, Facebook had much more modest aims. It would be much easier to get a majority of that population, at which point it would look like a success. Why would someone on MySpace already join Facebook? Because it was built for them.

Of course, word would get out, though, and when other colleges heard about Facebook, theyíd want it too. Itís human nature to want what you can’t have, especially if it feels new, exciting, and exclusive. When Facebook opened up to other prestigious colleges, they had already heard of it, and they already had friends from Harvard on there. And this process was repeated each time the site expanded further.

Thus, by the time it had opened up to the general public, Facebook Business was already a phenomenon.

Learn from this. If you launch a service like this, then keep it exclusive at first and then roll it out. Running a beta test is a great way to do this and especially because it gives you the chance to iron out bugs and test your idea! a proven tactic in both product development and digital marketing campaigns.