Purpose and Solved
Problems
For many, Facebook is one of the first things that comes to
mind when one mentions social media, and there’s a good reason for that. “Facebook has more than 2.2 billion monthly
active users as of January 2018” (Wikipedia).
The massive user base has led it to being at the forefront of social
networking. Once a user creates a
profile, they can connect to almost any person that they know from work, school,
neighbor, or other function. Once
connected, they can message one another, share posts, even play games with one
another.
With such a large and varied user base, Facebook is a prime candidate
for a company to solve problems it may have with reaching out to customers. It’s large user base allows companies to
interact with and engage their target market.
By creating a customer persona, one can create and focus on a marketing
objective to tackle with Facebook (whether that be to increase readership of
articles or creating general brand awareness).
The more a company strategically posts, the higher brand recognition,
and important content can reach the customer.
Customer service, interaction, and ads viewership can also be improved, and
that’s just the tip of what Facebook can do for a business.
 |
| Most Popular Social Networking Sites by Country - Courtney of Wikipedia With Facebook in blue, it is clear that they hold a massive worldwide market share, lucrative for companies. |
Attempting to use Facebook
One of the best things about Facebook, is that almost any
device with an internet connection can access and utilize Facebook, and
Facebook has optimization down to a tee.
In only a few moments, I could download the app, create an account, and
instantly become connected to an entire web of others, for almost no cost at
all. Both the app and desktop
application are straightforward, and familiar to anyone with prior experience
with social media. All features work as
intended, such as messaging (a viable replacement for text even), calls,
posting, tagging other friends, and much more.
Out of all the social media forms looked at on this blog thus far, I
think it may be the quickest and most visually appealing of the group, much in
part due to its simplicity.
 |
| A picture of Facebook being utilized as an App. |
Facebook Features
Upon logging in, users are presented with a news feed and
timeline of events of what they, their friends, and like businesses/ celebrities
are up to daily. As previously stated,
there is an instant messaging feature on the website, and is even available as
a separate app. Every post can be
interacted with via a button, which allows a user to “Like” a post, along with
other options. One can “follow” or “unfollow”
a user if they wished to be notified with updates, while also allowing them to
remain friends with them. From a
business standpoint, Facebook offers greater reach for marketing campaigns,
including many tools available to business, that I will link to below. Ads can be used to hit target audiences with seamless
accuracy, that automatically play on a user’s Newsfeed, ensuring that they see
the advertisement.
Recently, the biggest worry/issue with Facebook is that of
privacy, which has caused many users to discontinue use of the website. A third party had been selling user data that
was collected via Facebook apps. As this
is a relatively new topic, many are unsure of what is in store for Facebook
next, or what the overall impact will be on the community, despite this,
Facebook is still the most popular social networking site in the almost every
major country, save for Russia, China, and Japan (Wikipedia).
 |
| A typical Facebook page appearance when one isn't logged in. |
My Experience
Facebook is so successful and has such a large user base,
because it knows exactly what it needs to do to be the leader. The simplicity of the interface, ability to
connect with many users, and to build a portfolio on a user to target ads
specifically at their “likes” is all extremely valuable. Amid all the concerns of privacy and security,
I still believe Facebook has a flawless air around them. Concerns will pass, just because of how good
of a service they offer the users and advertisers who utilize them. Due to the ability to target users with ease,
based on exactly what they like/want to do, businesses have their work done for
them. Customers tell the company what
they like via interactions with Facebook, and the company can they target ads
or communicate with them to fulfill those needs or concerns. It’s a near flawless system.
In the end, Facebook’s accessibility for both users and businesses
alike, make it, in my book, the number one social media platform businesses
should be using to solve their problems with. The ability for a massive company to have the ability to communicate individually with others is so important and gives a personal touch. For example, if I contact Pizza Hut via Facebook, I'm likely to get a quick response, ensuring prompt customer service that previously was nearly impossible to get from corporate.
Sources/Additional Research
DeMers, Jayson. “The Definitive Guide To Marketing Your Business On Facebook.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 21 Aug. 2015, www.forbes.com/sites/jaysondemers/2015/08/20/the-definitive-guide-to-marketing-your-business-on-facebook/.
“Facebook Business.” Facebook, www.facebook.com/business.
“Facebook.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 16 May 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook.
No comments:
Post a Comment