Facebook Killed Forums

[THL]

Has anyone else noticed the huge decline in visitors and members on there forums over the last couple of year.  Page hits and ad impressions have dropped dramatically . Theres now a 1/3rd of the visitors who use to use the forum now active, adsense revenue is now a 1/3rd of what it used to be... Is there an answer to sort this, its purely down to Facebook groups...

My forum is 14 year old and I'm considering options..

[rfcontreras]

Facebook not really killed the forums, depending on your niche. My astronomy forum members went to facebook to show their works, but at the end, facebook does not provide an archive of discussions like a forum. Today people want to be liked instantly instead of discuss topics. Facebook is not a community in my humble point of view. Forums will never die, they will stay a long long time.. just google some of your forum topics, facebook will not show on the results.

Adsense used to be a good profit generator, but lately it's not even close to the revenue we used to get 5 years ago. 

Best Regards

[AlexWebsites]

What options are you considering? Yes, I've noticed this as well and have a few forums. It seems that users no longer come to "share" and they reserve that for the large social networks. They do come to get "help" in the niche of the forum, because its more specialized. Traffic is definitely down. I also don't think Facebook will be as popular with the younger generation who doesn't want to use what their parents and older generation uses...lol.

There are similar topics to this:

 

[Allen Bradford]

Yes, there is no denying that Facebook or what I call Fakebook has seriously compromised "traditional" discussion forums. Particularly Fakebook Groups that mirror the functionality of traditional forums. Like you, my Board is 15 years old. It was so popular back in the mid 2000's that I could have monetized it by going subscription based. Then the social media giants showed up like Fakebook, Twitter, Instagram. As Fakebook; 'the Wal Mart of social media' grew in popularity my Members started dropping like flies. Even those who I had met and became personal friends with showed up less or not at all, but clogged up my Fakebook Newsfeed. Some even had the gall to invite me to Fakebook Groups that were in my Boards genre. It's like they didn't have a clue that our Boards are a often a business and our product is participation and personalities. The true test was when an active Member who previously expressed no interest in Fakebook, suddenly friend requested me on Fakebook. Then the countdown began....participation on my Board decreased, crap posted on Fakebook and Fakebook Groups increased, and often times they pulled up their tent stakes and POOF, were gone.

Luckily my Board has survived, largely due to converting to IPS software, which I think best competes with Fakebook as far as Uploading of images etc. And the connections to other social media venues through IPS is a benefit. But unlike Fakebook that provides FREE EVERYTHING in exchange for ripping off people's "Likes" and interests and shopping habits, we traditional Board owners pay monthly for the data needed to support our Membership. That is something many Members don't or refuse to understand or just don't care. 

Sorry so long winded...I did start a Fakebook Group that supplements my main Board but I kept it totally private, only for Registered Members of my Board and I only use to keep people aware that the main Board is still alive. I guess my advice is to keep things simple, even though IPS provides a huge Suite of functionality and options, moderate fairly and weather the storm. Traditional Boards will never enjoy the social media clout they once did, but are still a viable resource, and if managed well can live a healthy life.

[opentype]

You might try the search function here on the site. The impact of Facebook is discussed frequently. 

My main approach is added content through Pages. I create databases around the community niche and through that collect content that no social media site has to offer. 

Social groups (“Clubs”) in 4.2 might also be a very good way to keep people engaged. At least once you got the ball rolling. Each new club is like a new forum with zero members at first …

[TheWorldNewsMedia.org]

Instagram just started Threaded replies. 

The public demands it. 

Forums that stay flat are too small for the modern masses.

IPS has ALMOST all the ingredients to launch a counterattack.... but alas it is moving too slow in responsive mode.

I don't blame them.... keeping up with the apps is difficult (an understatement)

 

Let me also add that the modern masses demand an app. We are still stuck with only a web interface. 

Until Android and IOS decide to make their browsers FULLY functional... people will still prefer the "cache" effect of an app.

[Mack_au]

If you cultivate a forum with constructive, and in-depth discussion your can survive.

And honestly, if someone isn't giving those things do you really want them on your forum? Facebook is awful for discussion, it's just one liners & meme spam, I think I've blocked like 500 sites who do nothing but spam a picture of peoples names with some "oh so random" attribute "people named this are totally bad at sex" or "top 20 guys who go out on the piss". Just dreadful.

The only reason I even have it is to post about stuff for my site on facebook and maybe bring people over but I'm hardly sure it's worth it.

[LiquidFractal]

Why is this thread in "Peer to Peer Technical Support"?

[ParkerPhoto]

Just came across this thread and find it interesting.  I just started the process of switching from Facebook to an online forum.  Why?  My Facebook pages reach seems to be dwindling more and more with every passing year.  With 25K fans, only 500 (on average) get any new posts.  The Facebook Group I set up has around 2K customers, prospects, etc.. in it.  The reach is even less, percentage-wise.  Basically, the group is dead.  No posts. No engagements. 

Engagement is my fault though.  I never put in the time to engage the group and post on a regular basis.  Mostly because I hate Facebook itself.  Plus, the format is not constructive for conversations or has the ability to track/search like a true forum.

I'm not interested in just making a post and having the group "like" it.  I want them to get involved and learn what I'm sharing/teaching.  That's why I chose to convert to IPS.

I've also found that my niche is ditching Facebook and are on it less and less.  Too much drama they say.

To grow my "community" on Facebook and grow sales, I spent on average of $1K per month the last few years.  Last month, I spent $80.  I'm moving away from Facebook overall and hope my niche follows me.  Although once my forum is up and running, I'll be using Facebook ads to drive enrollments.

So, did Facebook kill forums?  Maybe they put a dent in it.  But, I think that Facebook has its limitations and some people are getting tired of it.  That's where we come in and offer a better solution with an IPS.

[Joel R]

5 hours ago, ParkerPhoto said:

Just came across this thread and find it interesting.  I just started the process of switching from Facebook to an online forum.  Why?  My Facebook pages reach seems to be dwindling more and more with every passing year.  With 25K fans, only 500 (on average) get any new posts.  The Facebook Group I set up has around 2K customers, prospects, etc.. in it.  The reach is even less, percentage-wise.  Basically, the group is dead.  No posts. No engagements. 

Engagement is my fault though.  I never put in the time to engage the group and post on a regular basis.  Mostly because I hate Facebook itself.  Plus, the format is not constructive for conversations or has the ability to track/search like a true forum.

I'm not interested in just making a post and having the group "like" it.  I want them to get involved and learn what I'm sharing/teaching.  That's why I chose to convert to IPS.

I've also found that my niche is ditching Facebook and are on it less and less.  Too much drama they say.

To grow my "community" on Facebook and grow sales, I spent on average of $1K per month the last few years.  Last month, I spent $80.  I'm moving away from Facebook overall and hope my niche follows me.  Although once my forum is up and running, I'll be using Facebook ads to drive enrollments.

So, did Facebook kill forums?  Maybe they put a dent in it.  But, I think that Facebook has its limitations and some people are getting tired of it.  That's where we come in and offer a better solution with an IPS.

Nominating this for inclusion in next months IPS Newsletter.  

[ParkerPhoto]

It seems, with Facebooks recent blunders with privacy issues, that this would be a golden opportunity to grow our forums.  I've had a few FB fans that have deleted their FB accounts over privacy concerns.