The chief purpose of Facebook is to provide a platform for users to be social. The word ‘social’ itself is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as “relating to rank and status in society” and “needing companionship and therefore best suited to living in communities” suggesting that the concept of any social media platform is to enable people to come together to exchange, share and contribute information about anything in their lives.
Facebook’s rise to power is a hot topic amongst media sources and many outlets have taken a keen interest in its origins as well as reasons for popularity. A key factor of Facebook that cannot be ignored is its ability to empower users to add to the information already available online. Another angle to take on Facebook’s popularity is that it fulfils the expectations of users who have changed from having to wait to learn about events and ‘goings-on’ in their personal lives to being able to access their friends, family and colleagues at any given minute.
That provides some explanation of why Facebook is popular amongst the public, but why do companies now like Facebook? Rewind 6 or 7 years and employees would be on the receiving end of a ban and severe slap on the wrist if they were caught on Facebook during working hours. Bring time back to present day and some companies’ primary source of income is their employees’ ability to flex their digital muscles and make use of Facebook’s services. The answer is likely similar to the answer to any social media-related question; it’s all in the people. People are the fuel that keeps platforms like Facebook going so the ability for companies to be able to tap into the hundreds of millions of Facebook users can be priceless. Companies can market themselves to massive audiences in a forum that is free of the intrusions, falsehoods, and (almost) a lack of respect for the individual that can be apparent with the more traditional forms of marketing. Platforms such as the internet have enabled people to only learn about products which they want to learn about.
To cut a long story short, Facebook (and other social media platforms) allows users to only listen and learn about the things that are important to them. They can almost replicate their lives through a website and this ability to personalise content for each individual person is the one of the critical reasons why Facebook is a popular platform amongst the public and businesses.