Facebook turns 20, but it’s a walking dead. Or, is it?

Facebook turns 20 this year, but it’s a walking dead.

Or, is it?…

Facebook remains the most popular social media app worldwide, with over 3bn active users as of January 2024 (up ~2% YoY), ahead of YouTube and Instagram. Not bad for a walking dead. 🤔

However, the social network is dead.

I’ve written before about the switch between social networking and social media, but now something even deeper is happening.

We used to network with our friends and acquittances, then with strangers, eventually with fans. Then we stopped networking all together, spending time on social media mostly for entertainment, consuming content (mostly video) made by professional companies or individual creators, much like TV.

Now, we’re back to networking, but not with humans. We’re “networking” with an Ai algorithm.

When we open Facebook or TikTok, we’re talking to an Ai that chooses content for us. It is an Ai algorithm that really chooses how long we should spend on the app, what ads we should watch and what creators we should “network” with.

However, the need for online social networking remains. According to a Morning Consult study, only 30% of people interviewed said they would share a movie recommendation on social media, behind the 43% who chose text or email and the 35% who opted for group chats. Same happens for news and politics.

This explains the increasing popularity of chat apps. WhatsApp is the third most popular social media app worldwide, Facebook Messenger and Telegram the 7th and 8th respectively, ahead of Snap Inc. and X.

This has massive implication for digital marketing.

On the one hand, marketers need to realise that they’re not marketing to people anymore, but rather to Ai algorithms, who in turn will talk to real people. Even though some platforms claim they prioritise quality content vs Ai-optimised one (Google search, for example), currently it doesn’t seem to be happening much.

On the other hand, marketers need to find other ways to talk to real people. WhatsApp and Instagram channels are good candidates. You won’t get rid of Meta platforms easily!

Many have declared the premature death of Facebook before, even as early as 2009 when The New York Times titled "Facebook Exodus".

Reality is, long live The Facebook!

Social media are more popular than ever and advertising revenue is flowing in. 🤑

Meta Ads revenue grew by 16% in 2023 YoY, representing a whopping 98% of total revenue! Net income (after tax) increased by 69% in 2023, at a margin of 29%. 😱

Facebook couldn't have entered its 20s in a better way!