When selecting a digital platform to showcase your creative content, Facebook likely isn’t one that comes to mind. Instead, for many online users, the website is pretty much only associated with keeping in touch with high school friends or sending middle-aged relatives happy birthday wishes.
But, Facebook is attempting to shift away from this image. In fact, Facebook’s lead product executive Chris Cox has recently spoken out about its decision to attempt to shift its digital platform towards a more creator-supporting algorithm. Essentially, Facebook has recognized a financial gap in the lack of creatives on the website. And, it’s attempting to join the growing race for the top digital purveyor of creating viral content.
Facebook vs. The Rest
But, are they too late to the game? Rival apps, such as TikTok and YouTube, recognized their creative market long before Facebook decided to join the party. TikTok and YouTube were hard at work for years in this market. They spent time researching and crafting tools to support and benefit creative users on their platforms. Facebook, on the other hand, predominantly spent its time investing in larger corporations and midsize businesses. These targeted efforts left creators on the platform with few resources. Even Instagram, owned by Facebook, has invested time and money into helping creators on the app reach larger audiences through the app’s algorithm. With creators having established their communities on these aforementioned apps, does Facebook have any chance to appeal to users?
Will It Work?
Currently, Facebook is frantically putting in the work with their newly desired creative market. For one, the platform has strayed away from funding businesses. Instead, it’s now investing in popular influencers. These influencers use and advertise Facebook’s products. In turn, the platform hopes that the top names in the creative market can help draw in a new community of users. And, in an attempt to connect with potential new creators, Facebook even hosted a “Creators Week” event in June. This week was an informative seminar-style funding session that helped new users spark their careers on both Instagram and Facebook.
These efforts are valiant. But not only have other apps that are specifically, algorithmically designed for creators already cornered the user markets, but Facebook also holds a reputation of being a bit of a “has-been” app. There’s already a reluctance among younger generations to even use the app as a baseline social media network. And, in the fast-paced, ever-shifting world of social media, there aren’t too many apps out there that have faded in popularity and then actually made a comeback. Facebook would have to massively shift its platform in order to become user-friendly to digital creators, and it might even alienate its current user base in the process.
Featured Image from KAL VISUALS on Unsplash
