Most of us know the story of how a nineteen year old developed Facebook in his dorm room. But what most of us do not remember, is that Facebook was not a one of a kind product. This is not a story of a brilliant innovator with an idea that changed the world, but rather a story of a marketing genius who had what it takes to push the idea.
When someone speaks of social media, one of the first names that come to our mind is Facebook. No one remembers MySpace and Friendster and most people remember Orkut as a fad that just did not last. Facebook was the first social media to take the world by storm and the first social media site to make a space for itself.
When Mark Zukerberg came up with the idea of Facebook, he had one thing in mind, he wanted to make it cool. But it turned out to be more than cool. It was addictive, influential and ultimately a major force that impacted how millennials perceive themselves and those around them.
The Facebook Revolution
Facebook could turn anything viral, and thus is the most effective way of communicating an important message to the masses. It has made a larger part of the population aware of the world around them and encouraged some to find out more about an issue they might see on Facebook. It helps draw attention to charity events and encourages more people to join social causes. The best example of the effect of Facebook used well is the success of the “Fridays for the Future” movement. What began as a solo protest by 15-year-old school girl, Greta Thunberg in Sweden has now turned into a worldwide movement for immediate action against climate change. While the press attention she has received has helped her redraw our attention to the climate crisis, the “Fridays for future” pages on social media keep the protesters around the world connected. This is not the first social media movement to have taken over the world by storm. The success of the #metoo campaign too depended on the ability to reach thousands over such platforms.
Facebook was also the first platform to make idols and celebrities more accessible to the masses by letting them share stories from their day to day life and give their fans a peep into “who they really are”. Needless to say, it has opened up new avenues in the P.R. industry as ones social media image is an important part of the message one puts out to the world.
However, the psychological and social impacts Facebook has had, are not just restricted to online interactions. Social scientists such as Colette Lopane[1] are worried that relying on text-based communication from an early age might hamper the social network user’s interpersonal communication skills. According to Body language expert R.B. Kelly one communicates through multiple channels such as outer appearance, voice tone, choice of words and body language and a heavy reliance on social networking sites does not let the networker develop these channels of communication.. Moreover, Linguists are concerned about the future of language as internet slangs such as “brb” and “lol” enters common parlance. It is feared that sentences which get shorter every day to allow more effective communication will leave very little room for self-expression.
Facebook is all about one’s online image, on an intrapersonal level, the pressure to constantly maintain a social image can damage how one views himself or herself. People begin to view themselves from the point of view of an external observer, constantly judging whether what they are doing will look impressive online.
Facebook became more of an addiction than a service, with users hooked on to it 24/7, constantly checking their phone for likes and comments. For the first time ever, a website gained so much control over its user’s life.
Dwindling Influence:
Facebook today no longer remains the single most influential social media site. It faces competition from newer sites which have more specific target audiences and provide a more specific service. Thus the impact of an app like Instagram, Twitter, Youtube or even TikTok is considerably greater than that of Facebook today. Furthermore, with new and exciting social media apps being released every day, Facebook seems to have finally lost its “coolness factor”.
However, Facebook has held its position as the most used social media site for the longest time possible. It is worth looking at Facebook’s marketing strategy to see what helped them become the first social media site to stick and the one to last the longest.
5 Marketing lessons Facebook Can Teach Us:
- Keep it clean
The last thing you want is your product being known for its glitches. While Facebook was slowly becoming introduced in Harvard, social media apps such as Friendster and MySpace had already reached their peak of popularity in the real world. However, Friendster’s popularity is what ultimately killed it. Friendster simply did not have the back end infrastructure to support the huge number of users it had gained. This resulted in slow service and glitches and Friendster gained the reputation of a glitchie site.
Facebook on the other hand, carefully controlled its expansion till it had the back end infrastructure to support a large audience. It started out in Harvard and slowly expanded to other ivy league schools. Rolling out the product one school at a time allowed Facebook the time to develop its infrastructure and prepare for its worldwide launch in 2006. As such Facebook gained the reputation of a social media site that could be trusted.
2. Roll With It:
Unlike other companies who spend hours on market surveys and focused group discussions before launching a new feature, Facebook simply rolls them out. Once these features have been rolled on, Facebook then analyzes the response to them and adjusts them accordingly. Facebook received intense criticism for their “Beacon” and ultimately terminated it after a court case. However, with features such as news feed, Facebook constantly adjusts it based on feedback from its users.
While skipping focused group discussions might seem like a strategic mistake to marketing professionals, the willingness to adapt its features based on feedback makes Facebook look more responsive to its audience.
3. Keep your Friends Close, your Enemies Closer
Facebook has enjoyed a monopoly in the social media industry for the longest time. It has become the giant it is today by keeping a close watch on competitors and often buying them out when they turn into a threat. The first land mark acquisition made by Facebook, was Instagram. Instagram, the photo and video sharing app that had the potential to be one of Facebook’s biggest competitor is estimated to generate more revenue for the parent company than Facebook itself. Instagram also helped Facebook shift from a website based service to an app based one. The second land mark acquisition, of course, was WhatsApp.
Facebook has acquired a total of 76 other companies to date, and WhatsApp and Instagram are just two of them. In fact it’s not just competitors Facebook has its eyes on. In 2014, Facebook acquired Oculus VR, one of the leaders in the Virtual Reality tech space, thus diversifying its products.
4. Keep It Simple
Apple has always been obsessed with simplicity and its formula has worked. Facebook similarly has been obsessed with functionality. Unlike MySpace which allowed users to customize their sites and had millions of options, Facebook chose to keep its design simple, clean and functional. The initial version of Facebook did one thing well, allow people to show who they were and connect to people. Facebook’s design has always been very user friendly. Unlike MySpace that required users to learn coding in order to be cool, Facebook could be used by anyone. While the site has been developed over the years, Facebook still continues to be easy to use.
5.Keeping your PR game on point:
Facebook has faced backlash from its users time and again. However, it has handled this user revolt remarkably well. When criticized for its terms of service Zuckerberg launched an election to decide between a new Statement of Rights and Responsibilities and Facebook Principles and its older Terms of Use, stating
“History tells us that systems are most fairly governed when there is an open and transparent dialogue between the people who make decisions and those who are affected by them. We believe history will one day show that this principle holds true for companies as well, and we’re looking to moving in this direction with you.”
This impressed internet activists around the world and Zuckerberg was praised for asking Facebook users to view themselves as citizens.
Whether Facebook survive the onslaught of new and upcoming social media sites remains to be seen. However, in order to survive in a market where its competitors such as twitter and LinkedIn provide highly specific services, Facebook must find its niche, it must focus on a service no other platform provides.
One unique feature of Facebook that may be worth looking into is Facebook groups. Facebook groups are way more popular than Google circles and may just be the feature to save Facebook if marketed properly.
[1] https://upjourney.com/how-social-media-affects-communication-skills
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