It would be safe to say that at time of writing, Facebook is in
its heyday with countless brands flocking to the social network to
launch their campaigns and embedded web presences. However, at the
same time the press is already starting to prophesise its demise on
the back of notable losses in users in both the UK and the US
during May 2011.
What is actually playing out is a natural part of the product
lifecycle curve, where after rapid growth you then see a period of
maturity, followed by a period of decline. Facebook has been
phenomenally successful through these introduction and growth
phases, and as a result has become a sensible choice for brands
when selecting a vehicle to implement their social media strategy.
However, if Facebook has reached critical mass and the level of
maturity, the product lifecycle model indicates that the only way
from this point is down. If that is the case, Facebook is at a
critical point in its evolution. What's more, if it does not retain
its position as the dominant social platform, where will that leave
brands' social media strategies?
On the face of the statistics, you could say that this concern
is not well-founded. As I write this, the Facebook
statistics page states that the social network has over
750 million active users, so with that many members, you cannot be
wrong? Well, if you look at the statistics a bit further, maybe
not. They currently state, 50% of active users login on any given
day. That is still an impressive number, but did you know that to
be classed as an active user, you only need to have logged
in once in the past 30 days? Also, much as we have seen
with Twitter, activity is skewed by heavy users. The Facebook
statistics page claims that there are more than 250 million active
users currently accessing Facebook through their mobile devices;
any commuter would believe this figure judging on the amount of
Facebook time that is had on public transport. However, it goes on
to say that users that use Facebook on their mobile devices are
twice as active on Facebook than non-mobile users. This all sounds
great if your audience profile includes younger mobile users,
however if you are a brand aiming for the more mainstream audience
that has now gravitated towards the service, you really need to
find out more about its Facebook usage profile and be measuring
meaningful engagement and return on investment metrics to
understand if Facebook is the right channel for you.
New users is one story, but in the product lifecycle existing
users play a big part at the maturity and decline phases. Facebook
has other challenges to face up to if it is to stop bleeding
existing users. Firstly, there is the issue of privacy, where it
has a checkered history, the most recent issue being the
implementation of facial recognition software. The younger
Generation Y audience is far more accepting of sharing information,
but this mindset does change over time, whereas Generation X who is
the newcomer to Facebook is more concerned about what information
is publicly available about it. Secondly, there is security.
Despite Facebook being viewed largely as a walled garden from the
perspective of the average user, it has its fair share of problems
with applications creating spam and trying to operate malware
within its walls. Granted all of this can be reported and policed,
but this is not going to inspire confidence amongst less proficient
users and encourage greater engagement with Facebook which
therefore affects the brands that advertise within it.
Clearly, Facebook is an amazing success story and a big player
within the sprawl of social channels available today. However, if
you are putting together your social media strategy, take a look
behind the headline numbers and understand your audience profile
when selecting your platforms for execution. This will give you the
confidence that you are engaging with your audience in the right
social space whilst minimising the likelihood of having to start it
all over again elsewhere.
Authored by Ian
Cockayne