Currently Facebook is riding high, but many people are predicting a fall. Is this because people like to see the mighty toppling to the ground, or do they actually see patterns emerging in the tea leaves? No matter what, Marketing Using Facebook is going to undergo some fundamental shifts. Let us here at Wikimotive share our theories with you.
It seems as though Facebook is reaching critical mass, but so far there has been no major action taken. Every new update, every privacy policy debacle, every stock related issue, people claim to be leaving the social network in droves. Somehow, though, they’re still there next week, posting pictures of their kids/dinners/dresses/jokes stolen from Reddit. So, they haven’t left yet, but does this mean they never will?
Evidence suggests eventual, if not imminent, departure. After all, it happened to Myspace, Friendster, and the rest. Is there some magic that will keep people on Facebook when they abandoned their other social networks?
We don’t think so.
Now, Facebook isn’t going anywhere soon, but they can’t stay around forever. Already, they are starting to lose people in dribs and drabs with the increases in advertising. People go on social media to be social, and when too much marketing starts to encroach on that, they’ll find someplace else to go. That being said, at this point it’s only small numbers leaving, and new users are still replacing them.
An interesting trend though, is that among the young there’s a different, better reason to leave. How much fun can you have goofing around with your friends when your grandmother sees all your posts? It’s true for too many people these days. Your buddy uploads that picture of you doing a kegstand in a dress (IT WAS A DARE!) and then your nana sees it and you get the stink-eye all Christmas dinner. It’s unacceptable for everyone involved.
So while we do think Facebook will eventually become an arid farm(ville), it’s not going to happen soon. So as far as marketing goes, there’s no reason to think about jumping ship yet. If anything, local businesses especially should INCREASE their Facebook usage to build up their community while the users are still there. You’ll see other posts about Facebook failing, and while they will be right eventually, they aren’t right yet.
Keep using Facebook, and Contact Wikimotive if you have any questions about how to stay current!