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What We Really Learned from Facebook’s F8 Summit

17/05/2019
Advertising Agency
Sydney, Australia
171
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INFLUENCER: Redengine SCC's Paul Isbell digests five massive incoming changes and considers out what they mean for brands

Facebook’s annual developer summit took place on April 30th and there are some big changes afoot. Here are the five things you need to know about the announcements that look set to change Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp over the next few months.

1. The future is private...Or is it?


Privacy, the Facebook scandal that keeps on rearing its ugly head. So it’s no surprise that Mark Zuckerberg came out all guns blazing to announce that the company’s focus was on protecting the privacy of its users. With new laws in Europe meaning organisations can now go after the platform. The change was a necessary one. 

But what’s the big masterplan? The answer: bringing Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram together under one end-to-end messaging encryption platform. However, what does this mean for a platform whose whole business model has been based on profiting from open interactions? 

It’s no secret that we’re sharing less in the newsfeed and users are starting to favour private interactions over public sharing. So bringing all three apps together so you’ll be able to call, message and watch videos with contacts still means you are in Facebook’s walled remit and they can hammer home on the “privacy message”  but this doesn’t stop them building profiles around you, your likes and what you openly share on the platform. Probably why investors haven’t been shook by the announcement. In essence, it’s a bold announcement that attempts to fend off criticism without impacting the platform revenues but at least it is a step in the right direction.

What this means for brands advertising on the platform: Expect placements to be shifted to Messenger, Stories, Audience Network, Watch and IGTV. Facebook wants marketers out of the newsfeed. This has been slowly happening over the past 12 months with newsfeed placements costing more and other placements achieving cheaper CPM’s and higher reach.


2. Groups and Events now become the primary focus.


The algorithm is changing… AGAIN. Instead of receiving status updates from the friends you engage with, the main focus of the redesigned newsfeed will be groups, events and stories. This includes a personalised feed from the groups you’ve joined — with group interaction options showing up while you’re browsing other parts of Facebook, too.

The redesign is also supposed to help people expand their social circles. It includes a feature called Meet New Friends, which connects strangers who have something (like a school or employer) in common. And it’s offering an easier way to find events near you as well. It is truly going back to its roots as a social networking app.


What this means for brands advertising on the platform: There have been discussions for a while now that Groups ads were going to be released. Expect Facebook to allow Groups to build up substantial followings before trying to commercialise them.


3. Facebook Dating is here


Tinder watch out, Facebook dating has arrived. Secret Crush allows you to create a secret list of Facebook friends you’re attracted to, whether or not they have a dating profile. If they’re also using Secret Crush, and they add you to their list, Facebook will notify the two of you that there’s a match. Sounds familiar right!

What this means for brands advertising on the platform: They’ll probably try and market in the same way Tinder has been doing over the past two years. Create matches between brands and users to spark engagement.
 
 

4. Social commerce is now becoming more and more important


This wasn’t announced as a new feature but let’s read between the lines of some of the features announced.
·      Brands can now add their product catalogues on WhatsApp.
·      Influencers, artists and sports will be able to add shopping tags to their Instagram posts.
·      Messenger purchase functionality where you can purchase goods at the touch of a button without adding in any details.

The focus is on allowing more ways for consumers to buy products through their platforms because ultimately this is going to increase ad space bidding amongst brands and retailers.

What this means for brands advertising on the platform: If you don’t have a social performance or retail strategy in play it’s time to get one. Over the past few years it is this layer that is driving tangible results and outcomes on the platform and playing a role in the overall attribution of revenue.


5. Instagram updates and VR rollout


Charitable donations, a new camera including a create mode which makes it easier to share content beyond traditional photos and videos, like quizzes, provides more user functionality. They are also testing a feature that will almost entirely hide likes on a person’s feed, so you can “focus on the photos and videos you share, not how many likes they get.” Not sure how this will pan out. What’s the point of social media if you can’t check how popular you are?! We’re joking, but not sure this is a feature that will be rolled out beyond the initial beta phase.
 

In addition, Facebook will step into the world of VR connectivity with their Oculus Rift headset designed to engage in 360 gaming and watching 360 video. Whether it will work, only time will tell, but this has been the endgame in Facebook’s five-year roadmap for some time.
 
What this means for brands advertising on the platform: Not much at this stage as these are generally organic cosmetic changes, but watch this space.


All in all, Facebook needed to react in the face of controversy and to continue to be seen as being progressive. They know the way users connect with each other has shifted from the newsfeed to Messenger services/private groups and with privacy such a hot topic, encryption was a safe place to start. This is because, for the general public, they want privacy from Facebook and on the face of it, this does provide just that. 

The revamp of the newsfeed is a clever move as it is basically dying - so a focus on groups, events and interests is a way to bring social interactions back to the fore in this space.  

Commercial factors are also at play, we all know that viewership on the platform has impacted brand content and lower funnel commercial functionalities are how they can provide real ROI to brands, especially in this financial climate. So it would be no surprise if Zuckerberg has looked at the success of WeChat and pondered thoughts on how he can potentially evolve his platform in the same way. Small steps are being made in this area, but watch this space there are probably more in the pipeline.

Watch the full video here:

Paul Isbell is strategy and social media director Redengine SCC.

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