Is a change coming for Facebook for small businesses? If you have followed recent headlines, you may have noticed that Facebook and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, seem to pop up everywhere. What exactly is going on with Facebook? This blog post will cover current events and discuss potential impacts to small business owners.
FTC antitrust lawsuit and Facebook legal issues
In December 2020, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed an antitrust lawsuit against Facebook and accused them of creating a monopoly in the social networking world. A few years ago, Facebook purchased WhatsApp and Instagram. WhatsApp is a free messaging app used around the world, and Instagram is a visual-based social network. Both apps were growing steadily. Was this purchase a business diversification move by Facebook? Or was it a strategic move to eliminate potential competition in their market?
The FTC obviously has an opinion.
Is this lawsuit going to impact the future of Facebook? Quite possibly. But we won’t see the potential fallout for years to come. The worst case scenario for Facebook is losing the lawsuit and having to sell Instagram and WhatsApp. But for a billion dollar business, it won’t put them out of business. Truly, we don’t believe this lawsuit will impact Facebook users in the future, but we could see some changes coming to Instagram and WhatsApp as a result of the antitrust lawsuit.
Apple and Facebook’s battle over internet privacy
In a recent blog, Hyport Digital covered the battle between Apple and Facebook over internet privacy with the release of Apple’s new privacy update. We encourage you to check out that blog for the full scoop.
This topic has put Facebook back into the headlines and not in a very positive light. In some ways, Apple is seen as a superhero coming in to save users from data tracking. In comparison, Facebook’s harsh response against this update has cast the mega-company as the greedy salesperson hoarding and selling everyone’s personal data.
We anticipate some changes to Facebook Ad Tracking as users have the option to opt-out of data tracking, and Hyport Digital will work to educate our small business readership on how it could potentially affect digital advertising. As one writer from Medium.com put it, “Facebook could be a great, trusted business if it meaningfully paired down its targeting.” The level of data that Facebook collects and uses from its users is frankly concerning, and more companies than just Apple are commenting on it.
Declining Facebook usage in the United States and Canada
Social Media Today released an article earlier this year about Facebook’s declining usage in the United States and Canada. This is particularly interesting because North America is Facebook’s initial market. While it is interesting, it isn’t particularly surprising. The article from Social Media Today explained that plateauing in an original market is expected.
The daily time spent on the app is another interesting statistic that has changed over the years. According to this data from eMarketer, users are spending less time on Facebook while spending more time on other social media accounts like Snapchat and Instagram.
This is not a huge concern for Facebook currently because they own Instagram, and Snapchat also seems to be plateauing. But statistics like this do show that Facebook is not the giant that it once was.
An article from ScreenRant agreed, stating that Facebook “has weathered controversy plenty of time before while continuing to grow at a steady pace, but 2021 may finally be the year that users give a big thumbs down to Facebook.”
What is the future of Facebook? Should small business owners worry?
If your business relies heavily on Facebook to reach new customers, you don’t need to worry. Facebook is not going anywhere. While the megastar of social media has hit pretty significant stumbling blocks this year, it’s still a multi-billion dollar company that knows how to pivot in a changing industry.
Seven out of 10 adults have a Facebook account, and back in 2019, 74% of these Facebook users accessed the site each day.
While the daily usage time dropped in the last year, it’s still safe to say that users spend regular time on the platform.
Facebook for small businesses is still going to be a strong partnership in the future, even if the platform changes a bit in the coming years. According to the above statistics, your target audience is on Facebook regularly, so it’s still a useful avenue for lead generation.
Are Facebook Ads worth it?
First, know your audience. Younger audiences are leaving Facebook and flocking to TikTok and Instagram. If your business wants to reach Gen Z or young millennials, try advertising on those platforms before you spend money on Facebook advertising. If your ideal buyer is older than 30 years of age, Facebook will still be your best bet for social advertising. Check out one of our blog posts about this subject, “Are Facebook Ads Worth the Money?”
Conclusion
As always, Hyport Digital wants to keep our audience up-to-date on what is happening in the digital marketing world. Facebook has been in the news with negative headlines, but that hasn’t changed the fact that Facebook is still reigning supreme in the social media world.
Make sure your social media campaigns are backed up by a strong website design.
Schedule a meeting to chat with an expert about your website’s performance.
