Both sides of the Facebook argument

Early in 2015, Facebook is changing its algorithm yet again and there are two sides to the argument for why they’re doing it this time.

On one side of the argument are the advertisers/brands, who say its extortion. They have been reaching people through Facebook at no cost all along, the brands say, so why will it now cost them to do so?

On the other side of the argument is Facebook itself. They say they have surveyed their customers and are hearing loud and clear: “Too many ads.” So, in order to give its customers a better experience, they are doing something about it.

Of course, things may not be this simple. But one thing is certain: Facebook is clearly the most powerful Social Media channel on the planet:

• With more than 1.1 billion active monthly users, Facebook is simply dominant

• And it's not just its users; research shows that nearly one in four visits to a brand’s website (22%) comes directly from Facebook

• That same research shows that is more than four times the referrals of its nearest SoMe competitor, Pinterest, and it’s on the rise — it was just 10% in 2013

So a change in the Facebook algorithm is critically important. Is being able to charge for these messages simply too tempting to pass up? Or, perhaps from the Facebook perspective, is it not in the best interest of Facebook shareholders not to make this change.

What will be interesting to see is the number of brands willing to shell out the dollars required, as of the January 2015 change, to continue to reach people using Facebook.

Some smaller brands simply won't be able to afford it and others may go elsewhere, either out of principle or because they believe the other ’free’ social channels can deliver enough traffic to make it worthwhile.

Either way, there are several things that could happen in January:

• Pinterest could stand to gain from this and may grow substantially

• Other SoMe channels may follow Facebook and start monetizing their networks, as well (some, like LinkedIn, already do)

• Another social network could benefit even more than Pinterest, but that’s a long shot; even though it lags Facebook, Pinterest still refers five times the web traffic of any of the other SoMe channels

• Facebook could offer to buy Pinterest, seemingly closing the door on its other SoMe competitors

• Of course, someone else could offer to buy Pinterest, as well

• And who knows what new network could pop up

One thing's for sure: early 2015 will be an interesting time in social media.