Over the last few years, social media sites have been diving head first into the video streaming trend, launching internal long-format video platforms to produce original and exclusive video content.
Competing against platforms like Youtube, Netflix and others, platforms like Facebook Watch are having a hard time kicking things off the ground.
In an attempt to increase views, Facebook Watch is shaking things up and switching their approach by appealing to a less targeted, older audience.
A new era for Facebook Watch
Long are the days where Facebook was the social network of choice for younger users.
As other social networks continue to grow, and younger audiences are increasingly preferring alternative platforms, Facebook has gained the reputation of the social network for older audiences – a reputation that Facebook Watch is keen on accepting and embracing.
Facebook Watch’s new approach reportedly consists of throwing it back by creating older and more traditional content, such as talk shows and reality shows featuring widely recognized public figures across all ages according to CNBC.
Facebook Watch Stats
This new approach stems from demographical facts.
According to Social Media Today, while Facebook boasts a total of 2.27 billion monthly users worldwide.
Facebook Watch only has a fraction of that amount as its monthly North American viewer base.
With 50,000,000 viewers, Facebook Watch doesn’t fall too far behind from the social network’s North American user base which stands at 204 million; however, compared to Youtube’s 1.8 billion active viewers, their viewer base leaves a lot to be desired.
There’s a lot to learn from Facebook Watch’s recent move. First and foremost, we can learn that following the crowd isn’t always the answer.
Theres a time, a place, and an audience for everything and by recognizing that and going after a demographic that most platforms neglect, Facebook could potentially hit a viewer jackpot.
As social media platforms are constantly attempting to rejuvenate themselves by adding new tools and features, aiming to create and be the next shiny object that captures the younger generations’ attention, Facebook Watch is looking the other way.
Fuentes
www.statista.com
www.socialmediatoday.com