Is Facebook getting way to complicated?
Great time yesterday presenting for our client, Fairfax County Economic Development Authority, at two marketing/communications seminars about the current state of social media. These sessions, which the FCEDA provides to anyone, are a great way for businesses and organizations large and small to learn the latest about advertising, PR, social media, etc.
Because of the wide range of businesses and groups represented it’s hard to cover all the bases on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, blogging, etc. but our main focus for this group was Facebook. Mainly because of the sheer numbers of Facebook members and the fact that’s where most marketers start to develop their social media communities.
As usual we got lots of questions based on the changes Facebook has made in the last year: Timeline, Ticker, EdgeRank, changes to advertising and privacy. Frankly after each of the two-hour sessions it was amazing that we didn’t see more heads literally spinning out of the room.
And then last night Facebook launched Facebook Actions, which will add more action verbs to the Facebook experience, making “like” look tame in comparison.
It all got me thinking this morning, is Facebook becoming too complicated for its own good?
I know the end game is about monetizing the platform but by focusing on ways to make money off the big brands will Facebook make it too difficult for the little guy to market to his or her customers? In addition will all these new walls, tickers, apps and buttons make it too difficult for the core Facebook user, use Facebook period?
One on side, we seem to complain about Facebook changes, get used to them after a while, and then six months later wonder why we even complained in the first place. But one the other side, when does too much really become too much?
I’d love for you to answer that question in the comment section below. I’m going to be watching this one pretty carefully in the coming months.
I agree with you. I think it is getting too complicated for the average user (and I consider myself an average user). Keeping it simple also keeps it fun. I might, as you say, end up really liking those Facebook Actions. But they’re introducing so many changes to the platform, so quickly. Maybe it’s not the changes themselves that are the problem, but the frequency of alterations to something we consider familiar. Compare this to say, the email you use everyday. In six years, I think the Yahoo platform for email has only made one major change. There is comfort in familiarity
It is hard for the businesses and nonprofits on Facebook to regroup and respond to the changes as they come down the pike, unless, like for us, social media is their business. Facebook is not their only strategy. They have a lot of other marketing “stuff” to keep tabs on. Now with EdgeRank being what it is, it’s more difficult to convince them of the engagement value of Facebook.
The most well-intentioned brands can post engaging content and still not land in the newsfeed, just because of sheer competition. And I don’t get to see the content I want to see from Pages I like. I don’t get to see content from your Page! At least last year, I had that option to make all the content available in my newsfeed. Which makes me rely more heavily on my blog subscriptions…
I wonder if brands are looking at Facebook less as an engagement strategy and more as an advertising and engagement strategy, now that purchasing featured updates and sponsored stories are the only way to guarantee news feed placement. That changes things a bit.
Also, I think about my mom, who is 75 and loves Facebook, and her older sister who is coming on 77. I think it’s hard for them to keep up with all the changes. That’s a smaller demographic for them, perhaps, but still important.
Mary,
Totally agree. They need to make sure they don’t anger their base as they cater to the big marketers.
Thanks for the comment.
Jon