ReCode’s Jeff Wagner reports this morning that when Facebook reports its second-quarter financial results, after markets close today, analysts are expecting another outstanding quarter, including 43% revenue growth.
Facebook hasn’t missed an increase in quarterly revenues in this decade – if ever.
All of this despite the speed bumps the last year with apps leaking users data and information and Facebook struggling to filter misleading, if not sinister, news and information. Add to this CEO, Mark Zuckerberg and COO, Sheryl Sandberg living under a rock compared to their open and authentic public engagement via Facebook Live and the like over the last few years.
So despite Facebook maybe trying to shoot itself in the foot, the social network is going as strong as ever.
What does this mean for lawyers?
- Facebook is not going away, nor are people leaving Facebook in any significant numbers.
- The public, your clients, referral sources. and the influencers of these two, do not fear social and professional networking on Facebook. If they did, advertisers would not pay for the eyeballs on Facebook.
- Facebook, including Instagram, remains the largest social network, any way you define it, including as far as the number of users and the time spent on it.
- If you are not networking on Facebook you are kissing off a lot of engagement, both on personal and professional matters. Engagement that leads to a stronger name and business relationships.
- Facebook’s revenues tied with its record of innovation is going to lead to more and better networking opportunities for lawyers. Don’t look at Facebook today, imagine how powerful it will be as a medium in a couple more years for those who are building an identity on Facebook today..
- Instagram (owned by Facebook), a social network I don’t yet use, is going to become more and more important as a means to connect and engage with the people you’d like to get to now. It’s popularity is growing in all age groups.
- Crawling under a rock claiming Facebook would violate your privacy, that you don’t have the time and that Facebook would not add value to your business and personal life is naive. Especially if you haven’t put in the effort to use Facebook effectively.
Facebook is a huge opportunity for lawyers — and it’s only getting bigger.
Update: Facebook reported on Wednesday that growth in digital advertising sales and in the number of its users had decelerated in the second quarter. Zuckerberg added that the trajectory was not likely to improve anytime soon. Though Facebook reported a 42 percent increase in revenue and a 31 percent jump in profits for its second quarter, compared with a year earlier, just missing Wall Street revenues, its stock is taking a big hit in early Thursday trading.