Facebook Archives

Facebook takes on Clubhouse with live audio chat rooms and ‘Soundbites’

April 20, 2021

Facebook takes on Clubhouse with live audio chat rooms and ‘Soundbites’

Facebook is adding podcasts and ‘live audio rooms’ as the ” social network looks to capitalise on the growing shift towards sound-based chat apps like Clubhouse.

Zuckerberg loses $7.2bn as Coca Cola and Starbucks join ad boycott

June 29, 2020

Mark Zuckerberg has lost $7.2bn in share value after several companies pulled their advertising from Facebook, citing the company’s failure to police hate speech and disinformation on its site.

Meme wars: Facebook buys GIPHY to boost visual chat tools for Instagram

May 18, 2020

Meme wars: Facebook buys GIPHY to boost visual chat tools for Instagram

Facebook has bought GIPHY, a popular website for making and sharing animated images, or GIFs, and will integrate it with its rapidly growing Instagram photo-sharing app.

Facebook sees record users numbers (but warns lockdown boost may not last)

April 30, 2020

The tech firm said it had seen "increased engagement" in the first quarter of the year but, like Google 24 hours earlier, admitted advertising revenues had taken a hit as the COVID-19 uncertainty began. Facebook reported almost three billion monthly users, on average, across its family of apps including Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger at the end of the three months to March. That represented a 10% increase on the same quarter last year. There were 1.73 billion users active on Facebook daily over the same period - a rise of 11%. Total revenue rose to $17.7bn from $15.1bn - with net profits doubling to $4.9bn - despite a slide in advertising sales over the final weeks of the period as marketing budgets were slashed amid uncertainty over the economic landscape. But the company cautioned its business “has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and, like all companies, we are facing a period of unprecedented uncertainty in our business outlook.” “Outlook is really uncertain,” Facebook Chief Financial Officer David Wehner told CNBC in an interview. “We have a really cautious outlook on how things are going to develop.” He noted a “broad-based pullback” in advertising among small and large businesses on the platform, which led to a decline in ad prices the last three weeks of the first quarter. Uncertainty over a wobbly economy prompted Facebook to not provide revenue guidance for the second quarter or full-year 2020. Instead, it offered what it calls a “snapshot” on revenue performance in the second quarter. “We have seen signs of stability reflected in the first three weeks of April, where advertising revenue has been approximately flat compared to the same period a year ago, down from the 17% year-over-year growth in the first quarter of 2020,” the company said in a statement. “The April trends reflect weakness across all of our user geographies as most of our major countries have had some sort of shelter-in-place guidelines in effect.” Shares, which gained 7% in normal trading ahead of the results release, added another 9% in extended deals. The company pointed to the creation of its in-app COVID-19 information centre as evidence it was attempting to keep people informed and safe during the outbreak following sharp criticism that the sector has not done enough to boost safety tools and tackle harmful content more widely. Analysis Socialbakers’ data shows ad spend beginning to pick up in the US and Europe – suggesting that marketers are taking advantage of low CPC, and hinting that platforms may see a return to normality after the initial shock of COVID-19. Chart source: Socialbakers Following Facebook’s strong Q1 earnings results overnight, Yuval Ben-Itzhak, CEO of social media marketing firm Socialbakers, said: “Despite the challenging economic situation, it's exciting to see Facebook reporting a surge in user numbers, engagement, and even an increase in revenue. We have seen that during the COVID-19 crisis people are spending more time on Facebook and its family of applications, proving that they really are the key platforms for marketers looking to reach and engage with their communities – and also showing just how important social media has become in our lives. “Social media data shows that ad spend in key regions like North America and Western Europe has started to pick up as savvy marketers look to stay close to their customers as these regions get to grips with the pandemic, which is a good sign that ad revenue will continue to grow for Facebook in Q2 and onward.”

Facebook has enjoyed record global user numbers amid the COVID-19 pandemic, but warned that the increased engagement may not last in the long term.

Global digital ad trends: Facebook reaches 2.02bn people with ads worldwide

April 27, 2020

Global digital ad trends: Facebook reaches 2.02bn people with ads worldwide

The number of people that can be reached on Facebook via ads is now 2.02 billion, compared to 970 million on Instagram, 398 million on Snapchat and 386 million on twitter, according to new research.

Facebook takes 10% stake in India’s biggest mobile network Jio

April 24, 2020

Facebook takes 10% stake in India’s biggest mobile network Jio

Facebook has unveiled a huge investment in Indian telecoms giant Reliance Jio, as the firm looks to expand across the country.

Facebook gets a seventh reaction emoji: New ‘Care’ icon shows support during pandemic

April 21, 2020

Facebook gets a seventh reaction emoji: New ‘Care’ icon shows support during pandemic

Facebook is rolling out a new ‘care emoji’ as part of a number of new initiatives to help its users communicate during the COVID-19 crisis.

Facebook traffic surges during lockdown (but ad business takes a hit)

March 26, 2020

Facebook traffic surges during lockdown (but ad business takes a hit)

Facebook has seen a surge in usage since the coronavirus lockdowns, but the increases are concentrated on its private messaging and video calling, which it doesn’t monetize, and its ad business is suffering in countries hit hardest by COVID-19.

Rise of e-learning: 800k tune in to virtual PE session for school kids

March 23, 2020

Rise of e-learning: 800k tune in to virtual PE session for school kids

A YouTube livestream hosted by fitness coach Joe Wicks attracted nearly one million simultaneous views this morning, as School children around the UK began their first day of home study due the Cornavirus.

Eve Online players get personalised video updates

March 20, 2020

Eve Online players get personalised video updates

Popular online multiplayer game EVE Online was forced to cancel its annual fanfest last month – but makers CCP Games are using personalised video to engage its audience and create a social buzz.