Meta (formerly Facebook) has recorded its first annual drop in revenue since the firm has been in the market. Specifically, the Californian technology company has recorded 28,022 million dollars, just over $1,000 million below the same period of the previous year.
A perhaps bland variation in the computation of accounts, but less so due to the context in which it occurs. After experiencing last quarter its first drop in users since it was recorded, Mark Zuckerberg’s company begins to show signs of impact on several fronts.
The long shadow of TikTok
The results arrive in the midst of a perfect storm in which different actors converge with Meta’s need to expand her idea of the metaverse and the need to maintain their status in the main axes: their social networks.
This makes Mark Zuckerberg himself acknowledge that they are now focused on boosting their “energy and focus on the key priorities” of the firm. Something that made it clear recently and very forcefully To him eployees.
And it is that the problems seem to crowd. On the one hand, inflation and the Ukraine War –which has caused Meta’s social networks to no longer be available in Russia–. Also the Apple’s new tools to prevent ad tracking and optimizationwhich have a direct impact on Meta’s business to sell advertising.
On the other, the war with TikTok that has forced Instagram to plunge into a stage of profound change, still with a long way to go and optimization. A change that occurs at the same time that its competing platform continues to increase in popularity, putting Zuckerberg and company more and more on the ropes.
Reels is the solution
Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, communicated precisely this week the platform’s approach from now on: video, video and more video. The photos are an “inheritance”, but never again the priority.
Zuckerberg, for his part, assures that they are already experiencing a “positive trajectory” in engagement in products like Reelsthe new great approach of Instagram.
Likewise, in a call with investors, The CEO assured this Wednesday that he hopes that these will be an important focus for both the user and the company’s accounts, when they optimize their monetization. “We believe that we have to push this aspect,” she declared.
At the same time, recommendations will grow on both Facebook and Instagram. Currently, approximately 15% of the posts in the feeds The main ones of these social networks are recommended –from people whom one does not follow–. By the end of next year, this figure will double.
Zuckerberg assures that they are creating something “unique” with the addition of novelties, improvement of their artificial intelligence and recommendations. According to the manager, it is not about choosing between family and friends or recommended content, but about having everything in one place.
Move fast or die
The director himself states that one of the keys of the company is “to move quickly against other competitors in the industry”. And that the day they stop doing it, the company will be in trouble.
This view has also been shared by Sheryl Sandberg, head of operations who will leave Meta this year after 14 years with the company. The executive has praised the “resilience” of the company in a currently complicated advertising market, where they remain one of the big players.
Meta has the difficult task ahead of convince again with your products. To convince the average user that they are still the most desirable option and that they should not go looking for other options. Both Facebook and Instagram have an arduous task ahead of them, with a huge amount of work being carried out behind the scenes, but their acceptance, far from being clear in recent months, seems more uncertain every day.