Depends largely by the number of people who are able to access it’s services, which means that you need growth opportunities in developing countries. With over 2 billion users, 241 million are from the United States, Facebook is forced to look elsewhere for new growth revenue. With its mission to connect the world, they have invested time into creating new and innovative ways to bring internet connectivity to developing countries in hope to raise it’s active user count. With a world population of 7.
7 billion people, Facebook’s growth has only touched the tip of the iceberg. Additionally, as existing countries continue to increase disposable incomes, the number of users can potentially result in a positive manner due to the users capacity to purchase smartphones.
Technology changes
Technological advances has very little to do with Facebook’s efforts to connect others. However, advances in user experience can differ due to how the experience is delivered. As more and more people use mobile devices, there is an opportunity for Facebook to thrive in such areas.
As technology grows at a faster rate, new ways are being developed to access the internet, such as from your smartwatch or from Virtual Reality hubs. As Facebook continues to keep the competitive advantage by user counts, there is a possibility for the rise in other online social media companies that can derail their numbers, although they might acquire anyone who becomes popular enough.
Environmental changes
Environmentally, Facebook has the opportunity to improve its media business into sustainability by improve it’s servers and equipment to run on clean energy.
They have committed to both reducing greenhouse emissions by 75% and to support operations with 100% renewable energy.
Sociocultural changes
Facebook’s social changes can be seen across the reaches of the globe. As financial capacity increases, people are more aware of high quality services in the products they use in their daily lives. We can see that Facebook will increase their services to meet the needs and to appeal to a bigger audience as an opportunity as well. Additionally, increasing their portfolio of companies acquired can help create opportunities by buying services to help generate new marketplaces.
Legal
Facebook has been through several disputes regarding legal matters, and most recently, the Cambridge Analytica scandal has left it crippled in the sight of the public. For a company that prides itself in keeping your personal data private, Facebook has failed in some aspects in that area. Regardless, several factors can still prove to be an opportunity for Facebook such as, improving patent laws and meeting regulation for China’s social media market.
Industry Trends and Industry Segments
General trends
In recent years, Facebook has only gained users since they launched in 2008. Every year, there is an increase of 11% of the numbers of users. The data shows that as technology increases, the more people are inclined to sign up for the service; making Facebook more accessible. The social media industry has only begun to increasingly double it’s numbers of monthly active users by 2021. This displays a huge opportunity for Facebook to continue its growth in the years to come.
Industry Structure
Facebook’s structure can be broken into several segments based on its organizational operations because of its competitive nature of the industry. Geographic Divisions- Regional divisions are needed to follow certain demographics to appeal and stay relevant. They are tailored to adapt to their users base to provide the best services possible. Human resources are managed regionally and includes shared resources with function-based teams.