Facebook is one of the oldest thriving social media networks, it is still a thriving business platform for different businesses willing to boost their brand awareness. With more than 2.38 billion monthly active users, Facebook can be used in numerous ways, including building a business, starting a network, and more.
There are several marketing options and opportunities on Facebook, so it becomes hard to tell which strategy is the best. There has been a lot of chatter about Facebook as the Federal Trade Commission of the United States, and 40 other states sued Facebook. After all, it appeared as Facebook was illegally killing its competition.
What Is This Facebook Case Study?
Most people believe that this is not a piece of essential news. Still, we would like to tell you that if you are willing to be a great entrepreneur or you want to be a thought leader for your industry, it is essential for you to keep an eye on different big companies like Google, Facebook, and Amazon. Even small changes to these organizations can transform an entire industry from top to bottom. As far as the anti-trust case of Facebook is concerned, this can break down Facebook into different parts, and there is a possibility that Facebook might even be forced to sell Instagram and WhatsApp.
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Therefore, the Facebook case study is not like a regular case study. But moreover, it is a case whose verdict can determine how the social media revolution will go ahead in the next 10 years-20 years, which will eventually be going out to dictate the terms as to how businesses operate across the world. The reason is that after the pandemic of COVID-19, all the companies have shifted online worldwide, and social media marketing can be considered the backbone of these businesses.
The story is that the Federal Trade Commission and 40 other states have a problem with Facebook because they believe that Facebook is almost on the verge of becoming a monopoly, which means that Facebook has become so powerful that it has become the ultimate player where it can control the market. After all, it has got significantly less competition.
What Is The Problem With An Emerging Monopoly In The Market?
The question arises as to why cannot there be only one big company that makes the best products and there is no other competition. Monopoly is bad for the business ecosystem as it will raise the prices as per its convenience, and customers will not have any other option to switch. A simple example can understand this.
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JIO is a big company that provides excellent internet. When JIO came to the market, a lot of its market competition had an adamant time. Vodafone and Idea were making much profit of more than three thousand crores in 2015 but after the introduction of JIO in the market. But JIO flourished in the market that even in the year 2018, these companies were facing a loss of more than four thousand crores. Moreover, BSNL, a government company, was also on the verge of shutting down; therefore, if the same continues, there is no doubt in saying that Jio can be the only player left in the market with no or significantly less competition.
Eventually, JIO will become a monopoly, and the trouble will start. So, today if you are paying Rs. 150/- for 24 days of data, Jio might ask you to pay Rs next month. 500/- for 24 days, and the price shoots to Rs by next year. 1000/- you will still have to pay it because today, the internet has become a necessity, and you will not have any other option than JIO because it is the only player in the market.
This is the problem with a company becoming a monopoly. It can dictate the terms in the market and exploit the customers while making a ton of money in ways that the businesses are not supposed to make.
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How Is Facebook Becoming A Monopoly?
Facebook is becoming a monopoly at an incredible speed and is killing its competition in the following three ways:
- Acquisition/Buy– Facebook directly buys off its competition. When Instagram was introduced to the market, suddenly it became trendy, and Facebook was eventually losing its value. So, Mark Zuckerberg bought Instagram and turned that threat into an asset to make money. Whatsapp also has a similar story.
- Copying the unique features of a particular application– Facebook tried to acquire Snapchat for three billion dollars, but it didn’t accept the offer. Therefore, Facebook launched another application that was a replica of Snapchat, but it failed. After that, Facebook incorporated two of the unique features of Snapchat on Instagram that made people question the relevance of Snapchat with the Instagram stories and the vanishing mode. Therefore, it made Snapchat irrelevant and saw a decline in growth by 82% within a year of Instagram stories.
- Destroy– There was an application called Vine, similar to TikTok. It had a feature because the users could easily find their Facebook friends on Vine and connect with them. Facebook shut its quality as it was disrupting its growth, which resulted in the decline of the Vine App. Facebook has been known to strangle the development of its competitors, which points toward the Facebook monopoly for which it has been sued.
Conclusion
Facebook has become a big company because of its intelligent techniques and ideas. These three features have helped the company earn billions without competition. The rule is simple: either you buy your competitor or use its unique features to lead to its degradation.
Bonus Tip: Consider doing fun and different activities every day. This has proven to be a very strong point for many people to turn their day around. Try adding small elements to your daily routine that will have a tiny positive effect on your life. Watching a funny video, reading an inspirational quote, and visiting fun sites like fortune-telling websites, could have a positive effect on your life.
