Should Marketers Boycott Facebook?

I’ve started to notice that many marketers are facing what I call the “Facebook Dilemma.”

Simply put, it’s a marketing crossroads: Considering the variety of shady tactics the social media company has been busted for over the past few years, we would rather not invest our advertising budgets in the platform; unfortunately, it’s just too valuable of a medium to boycott.

I discussed this topic with marketing colleagues not too long ago and everyone agreed that although they hardly trust Facebook, its unparalleled reach, coupled with its targeting capabilities, make it one of the most effective tools in their kit. And that means that a digital marketing campaign that fails to incorporate Facebook advertising just isn’t as dynamic or robust as it could be.

Indeed, it’s hard to imagine that many other marketing channels could get away with so much bad – and at times illegal – practice. To name just a few recent examples:

• In 2016, Facebook admittedOpens a new window it had accidentally been overestimating for two years the average amount of time consumers spent viewing video ads on the platform, erroneously inflating results by 60-80%.
• The following year, it emerged that Mark Zuckerberg’s company had been overcharging advertisers for click-based video carousel ads that were seen by mobile users but which didn’t actually result in verifiable clickthroughs to advertisers’ selected destinations. This “bug” affected clients for a year-long period.
• Last October, a class action lawsuit was filed against the firmOpens a new window by a group of advertisers claiming that the 2016 issue regarding Facebook’s inflated video view metrics was covered up for more than a year – yet, when Facebook informed clients about the issue, it said it had only uncovered it in the past month. The Plaintiffs even allege that some of the inaccurate video ad metrics Facebook was reporting to its clients at the time were as much as 900% higher than the company had previously admitted.

And all that without even mentioning the Cambridge Analytica scandal, which has yet again brought the company negative press coverage as the attorney general for the District of Columbia filed a suit in December against Facebook for failing “to protect the privacy of its users.”

The fact is that we, as marketers, choose the channels where we advertise based on which will yield the best ROI and to ignore the potential of Facebook is thus difficult to justify to company decision-makers.

I guess that’s why even though we know that Facebook may lie to us about the effectiveness of a campaign, ad spend on the platform still increased by about one-third in Q3 2018. In fact, more than 20% of total digital ad spending in the US will go to Facebook this coming year – second only to Google – predicts market research company eMarketer.

To boycott or not to boycott

So is it time for marketers to take a stand against Facebook?

Mat Baxter, CEO of Initiative, an ad agency that works with marquee brands including Unilever, Carlsberg and Lego, says yes. Last month, he posted his opinion on LinkedIn, writing that he would advise his clients not to advertise on Facebook, and that marketers must “take a collective stand” against the social media company for its “egregious behavior.”

His statement, which caught the eye of quite a few publications and marketing-related blogsOpens a new window , was made on the back of a recent New York Times reportOpens a new window that revealed Facebook had given access to more private user data than previously disclosed – including private messages – to major companies such as Apple, Amazon, Netflix, Spotify, among others.

Baxter argued that, “Hopefully, when they feel the pain of lost advertising dollars, things might just change.”

He’s got a point. If Facebook suffers no real consequences for its dishonest practices, what impetus will it have to do things differently? Some form of collective protest, then, may actually put some much needed pressure on the company.

Now may even be the best time for this type of unified movement:

• The public’s trust of Facebook is at an all-time low: Only 41% of Americans trust Facebook to adhere to US privacy laws according to a Reuters/Ipsos pollOpens a new window .
• Following the Cambridge Analytica fiasco, regulators across the globe are seriously pursuing stricter regulations for Facebook as punishment.
• Facebook’s value is hurting, with its stock suffering a substantial hit over 2018.
• Influential figures that have associated with Facebook in the past are turning against the social media platform altogether.

On the other hand, how likely is this to occur? Do we really believe that marketers across industries and companies would band together “for the greater good?” It’s not like we’ve signed any proposed value-based oaths. Our loyalties lie with our employers, and we keep our jobs by improving the bottom line.

Are marketers really prepared to boycott Facebook – and risk ceding the advantage to competitors who don’t?

Ultimately, I doubt it.

As long as marketing teams can prove to the C-suite that they’re converting consumers through Facebook, then investment will continue to flow.

Then again, prove me wrong (or right)…Are you thumbs-up or down regarding the social media 800-pound gorilla? Would you join a boycott if the opportunity presented – or even be willing to start one? I’d love to know your thoughts below.