I still remember the moment I made my Facebook account. It was the spring of 2004, my sophomore year at Cornell. I was one of the first users of Facebook as back then, it was only available to Ivy League College students. It was originally called TheFacebook.com. I became obsessed with it and it quickly became clear to me that this was going to change the way of marketing in the future. As the platform evolved I began to recognize the powerful potential it had as a marketing tool. People were sharing everything about themselves on this platform and I knew it was only a matter of time before brands got involved. Facebook began to allow more colleges on the platform and for the first few years it was mostly college students. By 2008 Facebook had surpassed 100 million users and by 2010, half of the platforms users were on Facebook on a daily basis. Facebook acquired Instagram in 2012 and we have seen the impact that these two platforms have had in connecting our world and driving businesses forward. Today there are over 2.4 billion monthly active users on Facebook. Facebook’s ad platform has turned the company into a social media advertising powerhouse, and in 2019, Facebook earned close to 70 billion dollars in ad revenue. If I were in college today, I would be paying attention to TikTok which has quickly become the leading destination for short form videos. Brands that are looking to reach Gen Z need to pay attention to and develop a strategy around this platform. Early adopters of the platform have already seen success from hosting TikTok challenges and running ads targeting this younger demographic.
