By Michael Fleischner
The recent announcement about Facebook
going public mean a lot for marketers. You might be asking yourself
whether or not the $38 stock price is a good buy. Personally, I think
the stock price itself is meaningless. What's significant is the fact
that Facebook, much like Google, is here to stay.
It's quite conceivable that Facebook
will morph and change significantly over the next few years. But the
reality is that they can. Companies like FB and Google have something
that most small companies do not - resources. And when you combine
social and marketing companies with resources, something amazing
happens. That something is innovation.
If you remember a time before Google
Adwords and pay-per-click advertising, marketing was drastically
different. We were more focused on print ads, print advertising, and
direct response. At the time we didn't know how limited we were with
regard to user information, behavioral data, and community. One of the
reasons marketing has changed so significantly is because large
companies were in a position to bring innovations to the marketing
world.
Facebook is in the same boat. Now they
have even greater resources to invest in innovation and taking the
marketing community to the next level. I don't know what they have in
store but once thing is certain - they wont stand still. Begin a public
company all eyes will be on Facebook, quarter after quarter and year
after year. This pressure combined with billions in assets gives them
not only the incentive to innovate but the resources as well.
It seems like everyday, small companies
like Instagram and others come out of the woodwork but the reality is
that they are far and few between. Those you read about are often
started in a college dorm room (where I would argue there is little or
no risk) or are backed by large investors. I think innovation would
happen without these scenarios but it would take much long and the
results would likely be far less interesting.
Just as Google has brought major changes
to the online world, so will Facebook. As is true with most
advertising platforms, the systems start off by copying what's already
out there. In time, they develop innovations of their own. And
finally, because the platform has so much of the addressable market, the
technology is distributed and soon everyone has adopted a new
advertising model.
I believe this is the trend we will see
with Facebook. Look for the blue giant to innovate and raise the bar
when it comes to reaching or influencing potential customers. They have
the platform, they have the audience, and now, they have the incentive
to innovate. This is a perfect storm for once again changing how
marketing is done!
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