News organisations across Australia woke up shocked on the morning of Thursday 18 February to find that Facebook had blocked their news from being shared on its platform.
This followed proposed new laws by the Australian Government to make social media platforms pay for content. The move was successful with Google, as the platform struck major deals to pay news organisations. The government was less successful with Facebook, as the platform “called our bluff” by blocking not only news organisations, but some government pages including the Bureau of Meteorology, and even state health organisations – a move widely criticised in the midst of a pandemic.
At Prime Creative Media, we were similarly stunned to find that our Facebook pages were blocked. And while we condemn the actions, we were not surprised that this generally untrustworthy platform would make such a move.
We have long warned B2B markets of the dangers of relying on social media marketing. In this post in September 2016, we warned that the nature of social media sites has limited space in a B2B marketing strategy. For our own sites, only a fraction of traffic is referred from Facebook, with the vast majority coming from our own databases and print subscriber lists. We have long understood the importance of owning our audiences and have focused our efforts on building up our own websites and database. To see how we do this check out this infograph.
Trust is a key component of a B2B marketing strategy, because of the level of spend. When a CEO is deciding on purchasing a new piece of equipment, or software, in the tens of thousands of dollars, social media posts or paid campaigns are unlikely to sway their decision. In a survey we conducted across 15 industries this past July, social media platforms came in as both the least trusted and least influential forms of media on buying decisions.
Facebook’s move to block news organisations has now eroded any remaining trust and influence of the platform. B2B marketers should be warned and should look now to shift any remaining marketing spend to trusted platforms via B2B publications.
About Prime Creative Media
Prime Creative Media is Australia’s leading business-to-business publishing company. With offices in Melbourne and Sydney and a team of 70+ people, Prime Creative Media has built its business over the past 20 years by focusing on its purpose of Growing Individuals, Organisations, and Industries. Its 27 brands serve 15 key sectors in Australia, including Resources, Coffee, Cranes and Lifting, Food and Beverage Manufacturing, Commercial Road Transportation, Construction, Eye Care Professionals, Logistics, Manufacturing, Oil and Gas, Roads and Infrastructure, Rail, Waste and Resource Recovery, Education, and Quarrying.
Prime Creative Media is a multi-platform publisher, committed to connecting our clients with key decision-makers through quality content and marketing messages distributed across print, digital and experiential platforms. For more information visit www.primecreative.com.au