Highlights
- Facebook is revamping to attract Gen Z with features like Reels, Marketplace, and Dating to compete with Instagram and TikTok.
- With a focus on user needs, Facebook aims to leverage AI tools and a revamped algorithm to engage younger audiences effectively.
- Despite competition, Facebook's Marketplace remains a key selling point, offering practical solutions for Gen Z navigating life transitions.
Facebook has devised a plan to appeal to Gen Z after servicing the older generations for years. Since 2004, Facebook has been the go-to hub for sharing news, chatting with friends, and discovering new communities, long before the invention of Instagram and Twitter. Now that Elon Musk has acquired Twitter and Meta has taken control of Instagram, WhatsApp, and Threads, Facebook has largely become a thing of the past, only really associated with Baby Boomers and Generation X. Gen Z and Millennials tend to prefer Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat nowadays, but that won't stop Facebook from attempting to reel them back in.
Now, Facebook has revealed plans to make its outdated platform more worthwhile for the younger crowd. As Mashable reports, Facebook executives attended an event in New York City on May 31 to present their strategy for ensuring what they call the “next 20 years” of Facebook. Tom Alison, President of Facebook, said: “We’re still for everyone, but we also recognize that in order to stay relevant, we have to build for… Gen Z.”
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Alison elaborated on how Facebook could be beneficial to Gen Z in numerous ways, such as purchasing furniture for a new apartment on Facebook Marketplace, connecting with new friends and content creators on Reels, or even finding their soulmate on Facebook Dating. He drew these conclusions from realizing that Gen Z's lives are full of pressure to conform to society's standards, live independently, and eventually settle down. He hinted at how Facebook has improved the algorithm for Reels so that users are more suitably matched with content that interests them based on their watch history.
Facebook Hopes Focusing on Reels, Marketplace, and Dating Will Attract Gen Z
In time, the hope is to make Facebook Reels as popular as Instagram Reels, YouTube Reels, and TikTok, while also boosting Facebook's popularity as a whole in comparison to its competitors. Facebook also mentioned how Meta's recent focus on AI could draw in the Gen Z crowd as the up-and-coming virtual tool continues to aid users on a daily basis. As the debate continues about whether AI could revolutionize industries, Facebook looks to hone in on the most “fun, engaging, and helpful" features it has to offer.
Although Facebook's strategy may be a lot to take in, there's no reason as to why it wouldn't work out with a little fine-tuning. One of Facebook's biggest selling points continues to be Marketplace, where users can buy and sell their belongings with effective ease. For college students, graduates, new homeowners, and anyone else trying to make a living in this unpredictable world, it could be precisely what they need.