If you haven’t heard the recent about Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg’s increasing data security scandal…let me catch you up. In March 2018, whistleblowers revealed that personal information from over 50 million Facebook users was sold to Cambridge Analytica who was associated with the 2016 Trump Campaign.

SHOULD YOUR BUSINESS STOP MARKETING ON FACEBOOK?

Facebook is a part of one of the largest online data security scandals ever. As the leading giant in social media, Facebook is now at center stage as Mark Zuckerberg faces potential criminal charges for selling user data.

If you haven’t heard the recent news about Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg’s increasing data security scandal…let me catch you up. In March 2018, whistleblowers revealed that personal information from over 50 million Facebook users was sold to Cambridge Analytica who was associated with the 2016 Trump Campaign. 

Equally startling are the reports of Facebook tracking your cell phone use – even calls, texts, and other details with your contacts not on Facebook and sometimes not even in your contact lists. All data is Facebook’s data. This of course is partially user’s not caring to read or fully understand the terms and conditions when downloading apps, and largely Facebook’s fault for doing business in this manner. We live in a world with increasing social media presence and decreasing freedom for the sake of convenience (for the user) and profits (for the businesses). 

Facebook’s Sketchy History

This isn’t the first time Facebook has had reports come out about sketchy practices. In one interview, Mark Zuckerberg is literally quoted calling the users of Facebook “dumb f*cks” for trusting him. Facebook itself was founded on extremely rocky ground in a war between Mark Zuckerberg and others who claimed to come up with the original concept of the app. In recent years, it has been so arrogant as to literally ask users for nude photos to combat revenge porn in a “pilot program” designed to stop similar/the same photos from being shared. Is this real life?!

Losing Millions of Dollars and Users

The Cambridge Analytica data scandal facing Mark Zuckerberg is hitting where it hurts most – the wallet. Facebook may be fined an obscene amount of money by the Federal Trade Commission if officials find that the company committed a violation in relation to the recent Cambridge Analytica mishap. Each fine could be up to $40,000 USD, according to The Washington Post. However, in Facebook’s case, each user whose data was harvested can be considered a single violation, racking the fine up to $2 trillion USD.

As if this weren’t bad enough, there is now an increasingly popular #deletefacebook trend where millions of users are abandoning the platform altogether.

Should Businesses That Use Facebook to Market Be Worried?

The unfortunate reality of users leaving and scandal growing (who knows how big this could get) is that it puts a “black eye” on Facebook as a whole right now. That being said, this isn’t a doomsday scenario where you must stop everything you’re doing for your business on Facebook at once (personal profiles; that’s another option).

For one, Facebook isn’t going anywhere…for a while at least. It’s simply too huge and too many people use it daily. That in and of itself makes it worth your time and marketing budget. Another possibility is that the brand becomes undervalued in terms of CPM meaning your marketing budget could go further than ever using Facebook in the months and years to come. It will be very interesting to see what happens now that Mark Zuckerberg has agreed to testify before Congress.

It’s important not to lean 100% on one platform to market your business. It’s great to have a “pillar” for your content, but you never want your eggs in one basket. Continue to experiment with new platforms and know that even giants can fall, so you need to be ready to move or get crushed.