Users and Advertisers Are Unaffected By The Facebook Scandal

• According to Facebook, its downfall has been greatly exaggerated.
• Despite the Cambridge Analytica fallout and #DeleteFacebook campaigns, the website remains largely unfazed by the Facebook scandal.
• Facebook Executive Carolyn Everson reported the reaction of users and advertisers in a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal.

In a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal, Global Marketing VP of Facebook Carolyn Everson stated there have been no noticeable changes in behavior with regards to data privacy after the Facebook scandal. With the social media giant being under scrutiny by Congress and other lawmakers around the world, Facebook does not expect much to change on the legislative side of things.

“We have not seen wild changes in behavior with people saying ‘I’m not going to share any data with Facebook anymore,’” Global Marketing VP Carolyn Everson told The Wall Street Journal.

Image Courtesy of USA Herald

Everson mentioned that the company isn’t expecting any changes to the overall revenue or business model. The ad model of the company came under heat during the Facebook hearings this week because of its targeted advertisements. Users have not changed their settings and advertisers seem to be staying put. Wall Street Analysts have found out that the engagement on the social media platform hasn’t been pulled back and ad buyers have not budged either. In fact, analysts claim that the stock may go higher with the scandal acting as a catalyst.

However, things are looking not as lively for Cambridge Analytica. The firm’s data mining operations set the whole scandal in motion. Cambridge Analytica replaced their temporary CEO, who was in his position for less than a month. Julian Wheatland, chair of Cambridge Analytica’s British counterpart SCL group, will join as CEO soon.

Facebook’s subsidiary Instagram also continues to see growth with a 136% increase in investments. Travel brands are flocking to the platform because of the visual nature of the platform.

Wall Street analyst David Seaburg told CNBC that Mark Zuckerburg believes in his product. Facebook continues to deliver a return on investments to its advertisers despite the Facebook scandal with an 18% decrease per thousand impressions and a 21% drop in cost per click. The click-through rate has increased by 4%, making Facebook one of the most cost-effective places to advertise. Brands will continue to allocate funds into Facebook because of ad performance levels on the website.