Digital migration and social network substitution. Where is business going from Instagram and Facebook?

On March 21, the Tverskoy Court of Moscow recognized the Meta company as an extremist organization violating the rights of Russians and threatening the constitutional order of the country. Its activities were banned in Russia, and its digital products, including the largest social networks Facebook and Instagram, were blocked. Influencers and their million-strong audiences began to migrate to other platforms.

Let us also recall that Google had previously suspended advertising sales in Russia, and contextual advertising in the search engine, as well as media advertising on YouTube, were no longer available to Russians.

As a result of such a radical reduction in  buy telemarketing data advertising inventory on the digital market and the redistribution of the audience, advertisers have suspended their activity in anticipation of the situation stabilizing and observing what is happening.

What we did during these two weeks, and now we want to share with you our observations about the situation around the blocking of foreign social platforms, talk about the prospects of “domestic analogues” and suggest not to panic, but to remember the classic methods of promotion on the network, which did not lose their relevance even in the era of Instagram, and today have become even more popular.

So what’s going on?

Let’s start with Facebook, which has probably suffered the greatest audience losses. According to various estimates, the platform has lost about half  how to name an online store? tips, examples, and common mistakes of its Russian users. Considerable toxicity, acquired as a result of the official permission to call for violence against Russian military personnel, together with traditionally not the most friendly usability, have added to the effect of technical blocking, and now Facebook, apparently, is finally falling out of Russian reality.

Instagram looks much more alive

So, we are really seeing a massive transition of the audience. It is curious that the coverage of stories and clips is not yet showing any noticeable growth. Probably, the behavior model of the new audience does not affect this.

Thus, VK is starting a new life and has great prospects. And yet, the main beneficiary, judging by the audience received, is Telegram. Statistics indicate that at least 14 million new users have come here. For Russia, this is a very large figure. At the same time, we must understand that migration here will continue. Telegram is still experimenting with advertising monetization and it is not yet entirely clear how a simple business can develop here. However, it is obvious that with a certain adaptation of the messenger, it can become the number 1 platform in our country. It turns out that Pavel Durov has a chance to “capture” Russia for the second time,  sault data  his time from the outside. However, bravo.

What advertising channels to use today?

So, what should those who have lost a dense flow of leads do in the current situation? Obviously, resources need to be quickly redistributed, rather than sitting idle and waiting for everything to settle down.

It is worth remembering that the first contact with the client occurs in social networks: according to statistics, more than half of users use them to search for products. However, social networks have a number of disadvantages for small businesses. They can effectively convey the brand image, but are technically poorly suited for trade. Therefore, the question of whether the company has its own website is always relevant, where it is more convenient for the user to get acquainted with the range, prices, delivery conditions, format of service provision, etc. In addition, the site additionally works to increase trust. However, it is worth saying a few words about this separately.

Advantages of a website for business over social networks

The communication system today requires a broader view. Business should not limit itself to a social network account, especially in a period when the most effective ones, from a business point of view, have become unavailable for advertising activity.

In addition to a more convenient presentation of the range and description of services, the site allows you to customize processes in a way that is convenient for the company. For example:

Conclusion

The departure of major players in the advertising market from Russia, which has led to a reduction in large advertising “inventory” in the form of Instagram, Facebook and Google Ads, has led to a market decline of around 10-20% at the moment. For comparison, in 2014 it fell by 10% overall. Most likely, this phenomenon will be short-term. In the long term, opportunities are opening up for Russian technology companies, primarily Yandex and VK.

During the period of audience migration, communication with clients requires the broadest possible view. Although, in terms of traffic, there are not so many options left. We have VK, Yandex.Direct and Odnoklassniki. Telegram is unlikely to open targeting for everyone in the near future, and TenChat still has a small audience. SEO is becoming more relevant, especially in Google, where context is most likely temporarily, but disabled.