Let’s Get Ready To Rumble
In 2017, the most interesting pay per view of the social media world will be, without a doubt, the battle for the Social Media Heavyweight Title between the heavy set veteran in those signature blue trunks, Facebook, and the young, lightning quick upstart challenger in ghostly yellow trunks, Snap Inc. We are in for a treat as they face-off for social media supremacy and survival so stay with us as we preview this monster bout and give you the information you need to focus your businesses social media efforts.
Long Way To The Top
The Big Blue Basher
As with any title fight, both teams have been through a lot to get to where they are today. With meteoric rises filled with controversy, creativity and court cases, and both have prevailed as titans of the social media world. Let’s start with the defending champ and current heavyweight title holder, Facebook. Officially turning pro in 2004, the Big Blue Basher began it’s career fighting in universities. In 2008, Facebook completed its climb to the top, taking the Social Media Heavyweight Title from previous champion, Myspace. Since ascending to prominence, Facebook and superstar manager Mark Zuckerberg have not taken a backwards step, with consistent growth dominating all challengers who come before them.
The Little Yellow Ghost That Could
Learning from the trailblazing done by previous fighters, Snapchat’s rise to prominence has been nothing short of astounding. Going professional in 2012, the Ghost who Snaps gained legions of followers quickly especially in the younger age groups. With an army of rabid young fans, Snapchat has gained number one challenger status as its style and panache continues to draw followers away from the big blue behemoth. These younger demographics are the social media ‘canary in the coal mine’, signifying shifts in the professional digital marketing tour before they go mainstream. So while Snap Inc may seem in trouble from a size perspective, they hit hard where it counts.
The Weigh In
Pound for pound, the youngster will be going into this fight seriously lacking in muscle mass, with the Big Blue Basher weighing in at a staggering 1.79 billion monthly active users compared to the Yellow WhipperSnapper’s recently reached 301 million. At roughly one sixth the size of it’s opponent, Snapchat is going to be hard pressed to make inroads this far down in sheer size.
Tactics
How is each fighter going to approach this bout? A true David and Goliath battle, we think both teams will stick to the script in terms of overall approach. Facebook will try and use it’s massive size advantage to wear down its smaller opponent. With unlimited capital and a ruthless, laser sharp focus, Facebook knows this is a marathon, not a sprint. We have seen The Big Blue Basher’s ruthlessness on full display in the lead up to this year, when they took Snapchat’s biggest weapon, copied it and turned it loose in the form of Instagram Stories and Facebook Messenger Day, landing the first haymaker in this struggle. So how does the smaller challenger deal with a much larger opponent swinging for the fences? Duck and weave, duck and weave I tell ya! Snap Inc needs to play small ball and continue to differentiate itself from it’s big blue brother while keeping its loyal fanbase invested. The release of Snapchat Spectacles via vending machines was a fantastic play, and it’s that kind of unique approach that gives social media fans hope. The instant Snap Inc. tries to fight Facebook on Facebook’s turf, it will go down and go down hard.
Our Prediction
Here at Smith Social we predict, like all great battles, this one will go the distance. It will not be short, but it will be sweet. Will the newer, nimbler and nifty contender Snap Inc. be able to go toe to toe with the behemoth that is Facebook? If Snap Inc continues fighting in the manner that got them here, they have a chance of landing some haymakers and doing some damage. In the end though we think Facebook will triumph, whether by knockout or by acquisition, Facebook with the “Big Z” at the helm will ultimately come out on top.
Thanks for reading sports fans, we hope you enjoyed our preview of the Rumble in the Social Jungle: Facebook vs Snapchat. We will see you next time to discuss the latest in all things social media and digital marketing, don’t forget to subscribe!
