Have Google and Facebook made the world more expensive?

Hotwire LuaghOn
Apr 20 16 Comments

Both companies rely heavily on advertisements for their finances and it's not a small amount. So, as the spend in digital marketing has increased, can we say that ultimately, it's the consumer who is paying the increased price for the same products, even if he might not be using Google or Facebook? If this is true, hasn't it led to world domination by such tech companies, in the sense, that consumer is supposed to pay the price for these services even if he might not be interested or using them? Isn't it something like, buy this or that and get Google / Facebook for free along with it, even if they might be unwanted?

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 TOP 16 Comments
  • Marketing has always existed. Google and Facebook are not really taking any new money from you. You have always paid for marketing. First it was the print, then the tv and now internet. Everytime it becomes more optimal and hence cheaper as your data becomes less and less private.
    Apr 20 2
    • Hotwire LuaghOn
      OP
      You mean to say that it's the other marketing channels that have paid the price and not the consumer? If we add another marketing channel, it won't increase the cost for customer but decrease the spend on other marketing channels? Any data to support this?
      Apr 20
    • Intel 0xdeadbee
      +1 , no one watches “Durdarshan” (Indian 📺 channel) for ads
      Apr 20
  • Pinterest JvSn41
    no. have you heard of ROAS? Return on Ad Spend? ROI for advertisement? basically companies try not to spend money on ads unless it brings them a net gain in increased sales, etc. without ads they would never sell anything at huge scale if at all
    Apr 20 4
    • Uber Jvtk22
      There's other ways to make money other than advertising right?
      Apr 20
    • Pinterest JvSn41
      i’m saying many companies would be nearly incapable of selling their products on a massive scale without spending on ads.

      regardless of what your business is, if you advertise it with > 1 ROAS, you earn more money in total. getting > 1 ROAS is pretty easy, so it’s a no brainer to take your money, spend it on ads, and turn it into even more money
      Apr 20
    • Pinterest JvSn41
      liquidity greases the whole economy.

      advertising greases the whole economy.

      good logistics grease the whole economy.
      Apr 20
    • Pinterest JvSn41
      specifically facebook and google are two of the most effective - greasiest, and largest scale - advertisers in existence. they give good ROAS to many, many different kinds of companies
      Apr 20
  • Uber Jvtk22
    Yes, the power to search for any product instantly, with little or no barrier to entry in a global market, rather than walk down to your local Walmart Monopoly has increased prices for consumers.
    Apr 20 2
    • Hotwire LuaghOn
      OP
      It's good to have such power to search but maybe not so good to have it come as a forced bundle with other products you buy. It's fine to have such a search functionality as a product, but not forcefully bundling it with other products.
      Apr 20
    • Uber Jvtk22
      What in God's name are you talking about
      Apr 20
  • Oracle alwzangry
    The platforms have created advertising opportunity for people who would not have advertised before. It's worthwhile for even mom and pop shops to increase prices to cover increased costs because they can and because it generates more revenue.
    Apr 20 0
  • Pinterest JvSn41
    if anything more ads, more effective ads, better targeting makes the world cheaper by connecting supply to demand and making the economy more efficient
    Apr 20 0
  • Bloomberg FpUz31
    It may not be true that advertising today makes products more expensive. It's more targeted.
    However, I wonder if we cannot have accepted targeting parameters - maybe gender, age, very coarse location and be done with it - companies won't have incentive for extensive tracking... Sure $ spent on ads may go up overall but can we get to a better balance?
    Apr 20 1
    • Oracle alwzangry
      We haven't ever questioned whether targeted advertising works. What's the ratio of actual sales to number of people targeted? Does it yield better conversions than limited advertising? Does that yield better results for the merchants? And finally, is that worth taking away privacy of all the people - whether or not they intend to buy anything?
      Apr 20
  • OnDeck GPgj02
    The market size for advertising may be fixed, but when you have 2 or 3 major players, pricing becomes an issue. When big players jack up prices because they can, the consumer suffers.
    Apr 20 0