Valeriu Ispir, Digital Manager GH Bucharest: Why did Facebook conquer us?
In analysis published within 2013 Media Recap, an e-book recently release by Golin Harris Bucharest and Alex Ciuca, Valeriu Ispir, Digital Manager GolinHarris Bucharest, is analyzing Facebook and its role on the local market.
Although 2012 was the year when rivals shined, Facebook continued to consolidate the main role it’s playing in our lives.
When a communication platform manages to change radically the way one consumes content and the way you interact with the close ones, shiny developments as the amazing increases posted by Pinterest and Instagram or the extraordinary stability of LinkedIn shares during an extremely difficult period just pass on the secondary plan.
We all look with enthusiasm to innovative start-ups and their hokey cross shaped evolution, but the main news remains that Facebook got under everyone’s skin and will remain there. Many are fighting it, but who doesn’t have at least one friend that deactivated his account only to come back shortly, tail between his legs?
The IPO marks an extremely important moment for the social network, namely the start of much bigger pressure over financial performances. This is the start moment for the period when Facebook company will become more preoccupied with monetization. Its over 1BN users should help, but the things can turn unpleasant. We only need to look at the last try to change the user’s agreement for Instagram (bought for serious money in the start of 2012)to allow launching instruments meant to generate income.
The fact that Facebook achieved this huge reach is a clear proof that the network was extremely preoccupied to create a friendly environment to “steal” us as many usage hours as possible. It is, of course, the 1st thing any socializing network makes before turning its attention towards companies, towards monetizing its views.
When it comes of incomes, there’s no secret that the socializing network gives and gave a special attention to big companies, a thing that’s normal, after all. To consolidate its incomes though, I do believe Facebook should create, as in healthy economies, a middle class. This will definitely increase the revenues and will put the company on a more powerful position when it comes of market’s fluctuations, such as the decrease of games segment or withdrawal of significant budgets, such is GM’s one.
Of course, this middle class already exists, but I think Facebook should develop it and nurture it with more attention to its needs. There’s no doubt, for this middle class, agencies play the most important role. They convince their clients to be present on Facebook and each newly launched page means a potential channel for long term revenues.
Developing the relationship with the people within agencies becomes much more important as Facebook started launching new products in a very fast pace. The end of 2012 reconfirmed us the fact that the socializing network didn’t lose its innovative spirit and it is not afraid to experiment.
Now, being publicly listed, it is forced of course by investors’ expectations. And this thing cannot do anything but make us happy, because the opportunities to connect clients’ brands with networks users are becoming much more generous. For example, the new ad sponsored result format allowed us to bring our clients impressive click rates, and expanding the general targeting options of the other formats allow us a bigger flexibility.
Facebook works not only to expand paid promotion instruments, but also to increasing organic channels efficiency. Increasing the dimensions for photos posted with link, to happen in near future, will allow us to bring more visitors towards other channels and not to be afraid so much of this format, formerly accused of lacking attractivity.
Through the agility it showed, Facebook insured us that it didn’t become a multinational that caught rust because of its enormous dimensions, but that it kept its 18 years old heart. If someone still needs proof, I think Poke’s development and launch will chase away the last doubts.
Of course detractors will always exist, mainly as change is always hard to swallow, and Facebook novelties weren’t always perfect. But one must know that progress is based, many times, also on failed attempts.
In 2013, Facebook will definitely offer us even much more instruments to help our clients. We only need to be preoccupied to increase our knowledge level and by the most complex campaigns