History repeats, even in
social media, it seems -- or maybe it's
just a continuing saga...
According
to Business Insider, Facebook is losing
"millions of users" in major markets every month, to
"alternative social networks."
To
back up this observation, analysis via SocialBakers was cited: Facebook
"has lost 6m US visitors, a 4% fall... in the UK, 1.4m fewer users checked
in last month, a fall of 4.5% The declines are sustained. In the last 6 months,
Facebooks has lost nearly 9m monthly visitors in the US and 2m in the UK."
Canada, France, Germany, Japan, and Spain.
In part, reaching market
saturation point in each of these major markets is cited as one reason for the
decline. In
this case however, "decline" indicates a drop in the existing user
base, not taking into consideration the extended reach of Facebook, to add new
users, having reach saturation (according to their analysis -- not mine).
Alternative social networks
are blamed for spiriting away Facebook users, to fresh, new experiences, ways of
connecting and sharing in playgrounds to explore. This of course, is why Facebook has continued
improvements, feature enhancements, and generally changing things-up on a
regular basis, much to the dismay, hew and cry of many users not desirous of
embracing change, and struggling to keep up with it all.
To an extent, it would seem to be true. Yet those bright-shiny new social media platforms
emerging on the scene bring with them a new set of parameters and settings to
learn and navigate, so the Facebook-weary may not find total solace there -- or
would they?
With global mobile data traffic growing 70% in 2012, according a white paper published by Cisco this year, the increasing-mobile market orientation is changing things for everyone, including how users are viewing content.
While Facebook originally delayed in addressing the mobile market, much to the angst of many platform regulars, it now claims 30% of their revenue is derived from mobile advertising. This being the case, it seems Facebook has a good handle on this market.
One aspect I believe that is often overlooked when analyzing social media statistics, is "lifestyle," which is the driving engine behind all traffic numbers. I believe the global market's increased mobilily, coupled with expressed tiring of the continual loss of control of one's own feed, along with the abundance of ever-present platform 'issues' has worn many folks out. It's been FUN, and my guess is likely they
will retain their Facebook presence, but sparingly, in the case of those experiencing Facebook Fatigue. (Remember Old MySpace?) Oh
-- and those pesky personal privacy issues. Those have long plagued Facebook,
haven't they? In social media, this is a rampant issue. Truthfully, I have observed participation numbers continualy drop over the last 2 years.
And then we return to the
issue that remains near and dear to my heart: dwindling visibility on Facebook
-- especially for Facebook Pages, many of which are actively maintained by dedicated
business people, or those championing a cause. They have a lot of time and
effort invested in those pages, with lessening impact, diminishing reach, and
having to (now) pay to be seen even by their "Likers" or 'Fans.'
The reason I entitled this
article as I did, RE: 'History Repeating,' is because I see that -- do you?
About this time last year, I
wrote about my concern primarily for small business owners, and how this
impacts them
(scroll to "Update", contained in this article). This is not a popular segment of the business
market, as it appears to me everyone is focusing their time, effort and
attention to the 'Big Brands."
I realize those 'Big Guys'
are interesting -- oh, the things they do -- or don't, not-even quite right
sometimes...
the money they spend (always have), and branding images fill screens
everywhere. That's all well and good. Having worked with Fortune 500 companies
as clients, done my time in the ad agency world in the 5th largest US market (I
interviewed, but chose to bypass NYC. I know the ad world well.
As
a long-time entrepreneur coming from a long-line of entrepreneurs
(generations), I also know the small business side of this market well, and I'm
concerned for that segment, because I believe Facebook is missing the mark by not
adequately addressing that market.
This is a huge miscalculation
on Facebook's part, in my observation. A big reason why, is if such a large portion of folks
are leaving the platform in droves, so will the Big Boy advertisers also go. In
fact, at that point who would want (or remain) to pay-to-play, if no one is watching or listening? Everyone knows you
don't rely only on one market segment for the largest part of your revenue,
because if there's a change in the market or conditions -- so goes your primary
source.
I’ve been in conversation with small business owners who confirm
they jump through hoops to get a Facebook presence established. They value social
media as a potentially effective tool, realize it is a slow-bake process, and
cost in their time and effort participating in this way. Projecting a return on
their hours of involvement, this is an investment they are willing to make.
The
majority of small business owners I’ve talked with have not/nor are in the
market to hire a social media management service to assist them in this aspect
of their marketing —which is their
choice.
Hearing reports of the growing numbers, and knowing they will likely
connect with their market/their audience, many have leapt onto Facebook with
great expectations. What I believe is not taken into consideration is a clear understanding
that there is a tremendous amount of competition already on the platform, easily
out-flanking the majority of small businesses by those who hire-on help, and
readily pay for Facebook ads.
Now in the “Pay-to-Play” phase (current, new business model) on Facebook. The range of promotional possibilities are growing on
Facebook, and buying ads is relatively
inexpensive, with granular settings that allow advertisers to effectively
target their audience, including those “Fans” who’ve already ‘Liked’ their Facebook
Page, to round them up and bring them back there, to interact. It seems odd to have to go that route, doesn’t
it?
In past iterations of Facebook, Facebook Page EdgeRank was
critical, for Pages to be seen in followers’ feeds, even though individual
experiences "varied."
In
the past, and still today (although a bit less), “being seen” is heavily reliant
on engagement, through fresh content, activity and ongoing interaction on a Facebook
Page. With many small businesses trying to maintain a presence through the
investment of their time and effort, it seems unfair having to pay to reach
those who've already "Liked" their biz page
I'm
a huge proponent of DIY Marketing, and with the tools now available to Savvy
Business Marketers. Once they surmount the learning curve to a place where they
can implement and stay current, they will be in their marketing sweet spot --
but that also takes time. All this comes at a cost to small businesses. They
may be able to pay for some ads, but on a continual basis for many -- I doubt
it, especially for a dwindling reach.
I
think the dwindling numbers of Facebook platform users speak for themselves.
People like to have some element of control over their own feeds -- not seeing
all the great ads! Users will be treated to video ads on Facebook beginning
this summer.
In my article "Facebook EdgeRank [INFOGRAPHIC]: Why Most of Your “Likers” Aren’t
Really “Lurkers,” I
stated what I still feel today: It
all gets down to the bottomline of service: if/how Facebook really
wants to serve the
platform users. Even Facebook needs to take a less-traditional approach for
going after the deep-pockets for their revenue, and spread their focus out for
the highly diverse population of platform users. It is abundantly clear to me
that their entire system is set up to primarily benefit Facebook in every way,
entirely at the expense of the users.
History
repeats. Indeed.
Cisco Visual networking Index: Global Mobile Traffic Forecast 2012-2017 (Whitepaper)
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