Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta Platforms Inc., recently spoke about the impact of competing social media platforms, specifically TikTok, on Meta’s growth during a trial. He even admitted TikTok’s rapid rise has made it harder for Meta to grow. In particular, he emphasized the tremendous (and dangerous) force of “network effects” within the social media ecosystem.
In a stunning change in their communications plan, Meta has stopped providing Facebook’s user counts in their quarterly reports. The company’s new preferred metric is “family of apps.” This new composite metric includes users across Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. This update seems like a move to show a rosier picture of how users are engaging with Meta’s platforms.
To solidify its user engagement, Meta has released new tools to promote social connectivity. The refreshed Friends tab features friend requests and recent activities prominently. This design significantly increases the likelihood that users will remain engaged. Zuckerberg outlined early on that he wants to return Facebook’s focus to the basics. Musk has described this as his main goal by 2025, referring to it as a “reversion to OG Facebook.”
Zuckerberg’s Realization About TikTok’s Challenge
Zuckerberg’s statements are finally laying bare just how heated that competition is in today’s marketplace. TikTok exploded on the scene after ByteDance purchased Musical.ly in 2017 and merged it with TikTok in 2018. During a recent earnings call, he noted that TikTok is a “top priority” and a “highly urgent” competitive threat to Meta. As TikTok took off, it created a major growth deceleration headache for the company.
What makes this so striking is that Facebook’s Zuckerberg is having this realization at all. He has been a regular target of criticism regarding the state of competition in social media space. He stated that the acceleration of TikTok’s popularity has been a direct challenge to Meta’s business model and growth strategies.
What The Author Thinks
Zuckerberg’s acknowledgment of TikTok’s growing influence and the challenges it poses for Meta is a rare moment of self-awareness that underscores the urgency of Meta’s need to adapt. While Meta’s shift to a more favorable metric and new user engagement tools are steps in the right direction, they may not be enough to mitigate the long-term impact of TikTok’s explosive growth. If Meta is to remain competitive, it will need to rethink its strategy and overcome the inertia that has plagued its growth in recent years.
Featured image credit: FMT
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