Global social networking platform Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) created a stir amongst its users when it announced on Saturday, 15th November, 2014 that from 2015, brands which are desirous of optimum exposure on a global scale must pay for posting updates on their newsfeed.
Ever since its launch in 2004, Facebook has served as a veritable global platform for brands to promote themselves on a global stage without making an investment. The usual modus operandi followed by companies, brands and celebrities alike entailed posting regular updates on newsfeed section of the social networking platform free of charge. This led to an inundation of brands on newsfeed leading Facebook to put algorithms in place as a method of sifting.
This move attracted a lot of criticism from users whose pages had suffered from reduced visibility as a result of this measure and they went on to claim that it was Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB)’s way of nudging them towards making a subscription. On its part, the company explained it as an attempt to filter posts which it claimed aggravated users rather than invoking a positive reaction from them. However, it failed to extend its comment to posts which were paid for.
Having adhered to this policy for the last few years, the company finalized its stance on Saturday through the following announcement –
“Beginning in January 2015, people will see less of this type of content in their News Feeds. All of this means that Pages that post promotional creative should expect their organic distribution to fall significantly over time.”
CNBC discussed Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) on Friday, 14th November, 2014, wherein Melissa Lee shared the forum with two traders from Option Action as to what should a shareholder’s strategy towards this company be. An outline which emerged suggested a ‘buy’ at $75 levels at which it is trading now and wait for it to surge to $82.50 like it is expected to by December, 2014. While there is a chance that it might fall by a couple of notches to $73, it is still likely to rally and cross the $80 mark.
Whether or not this prediction will hold good on the face of Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB)’s latest announcement is something that remains to be seen.
This article has been written by Vinita Basu.
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