Has it really been 20 years? When Facebook first burst onto the scene in February 2004, few could have predicted the monumental impact it would have.
The brainchild of five fresh-faced Harvard students, Facebook was able to capitalise on the nascent potential of social media to evolve into a global tech empire.
Now an omnipresent influence in most of our lives, the platform’s ubiquitousness made it a truly golden proposition for advertisers.
Facebook’s ability to bottle and sell its users’ personal data to online advertisers has driven the vast majority of its profits over the past two decades.
Simply put, without advertising, the site would never have achieved the Leviathan status that it has gone on to attain.
Now part of Meta, alongside sister platforms Instagram and WhatsApp, Facebook may have seen its influence wane over the past decade – but it remains an extremely influential proposition for brands looking to expand their digital presence.
Deep Impact
Facebook’s impact on the advertising and marketing industries in the 21st century has been monumental.
Giving brands previously unparalleled access to million of customers, the social media site has revolutionised the ways in which brands interact with individuals.
Without Facebook, we may never have the seen high level of personalisation that we now take for granted with online ads.
As Buddy Media CEO and founder Sam Budd points out: “It’s impacted the world in so many ways and perhaps the biggest is a fundamental change in how we interact with brands.
“When we scroll through our timelines to catch up with friends and family, we also expect to see updates from our favourite brands. This kind of interaction simply didn’t exist before Facebook came along.”
Not only has Facebook helped bring brands and customers closer together, it has also made advertisers’ lives significantly easier over the past 20 years, offering cheap mass campaigns and precise measurement solutions.
Its ability to give brands instant information about what their potential consumer base really wants has undeniably spearheaded the rise and rise of digital advertising to the very top of the ecosystem.
“Facebook has revolutionised advertising over the past 20 years, primarily through its unrivalled reach and impressions,” Re:act co-founder Tom Stone explains.
“Marketers now prioritise Facebook in their 360 marketing plans due to its cost-effectiveness and efficient targeting capabilities.
“Unlike traditional methods such as TV or print, which could guarantee eyeballs but often at a higher cost, Facebook offers a direct line to over 90% of daily consumers.”
Subscribe to Marketing Beat for free
Sign up here to get the latest agency-related news sent straight to your inbox each morning
Social media is king
Social media has become an ever-present in most of our lives, and with around 84.4% of the current UK population said to be ‘active users’, Facebook has unquestionably been at the forefront of this development.
Whether you believe it to be good or bad, social media is unavoidable – and that it why it has also become such a vital part of any brand’s marketing and advertising plans.
According to a recent study by Sprout Social, well over a quarter (28.4%) of most brands’ digital advertising budgets will be spent exclusively on social media campaigns.
Calling Facebook’s influence on the rise and rise of social media advertising “absolutely crucial”, Budd cites the platform’s ability to “to create tailored ads for specific audiences” as having had a “huge impact on effectiveness”.
He added: “Facebook was the first to make this possible on a global scale so it’s no wonder at all that 93% of social media marketers still use Facebook Ads.”
Echoing Budd’s sentiments, Stone believes that the social network has been “pivotal” in making social media an “integral part of any brand’s advertising strategy”.
Highlighting its “unparalleled reach, impressions, and audience targeting capabilities”, Stone points that Facebook has been the key driver in making social media such an attractive medium for advertisers, outshining other, more traditional touchpoints for consumer engagement.
Over the hill?
With the rise to prominence of rival platforms such as TikTok and Snapchat taking away a significant chunk of Facebook’s traffic – not to mention sister platform Instagram – many would question whether the site still retains the same relevance it once did.
Simply put, the answer is no. But for advertisers to overlook it would be a fatal mistake.
Facebook remains the largest social media platform in terms of active users. Budd explains: “With almost 3 billion daily active users and still growing with 400 new users hourly, Facebook remains absolutely relevant.”
“In fact, it’s projected to bring in £58 billion in ad revenue in 2024. So, it’s safe to say that Facebook is still a powerhouse when it comes to brand advertising.”
Comparing Facebook to its China-backed upstart competitor TikTok, The Social Element managing director Linn Frost singles out the platform’s continued superior ad revenue returns and lack of digital constraints as a reason for optimism for Meta.
“Meta’s ecosystem remains a go-to for advertisers. Whilst platforms like TikTok are on a trajectory where eventually more people will spend time on them than Facebook, the latter will still pull in five times the ad revenues per person per hour over the next few years,” she says.
“It’s also important to note that Facebook isn’t as limited globally as some of its competitors, meaning that it is not hindered by digital red tape.”
While the wealth of new social media players may mean Facebook is not as dominant as it was once, it undeniably still enjoys a considerable spot in the advertising pantheon, with the vast majority of brands still considering it a must-have for online and social media campaigns.
