If you were wondering how much value is in advertising on Facebook, a new study by the site Simply Measured might make you think twice about spending the money. (Hat tip to Contently.)
Between May 2013 and last month, the top 10 brands on the social network saw engagement plunge by an average of 40 percent. Top brands whose engagement declined include Disney (down 21.43 percent), Starbucks (down 29.43 percent) and Audi USA (down a stunning 94.77 percent).
This is despite the fact the all of the top 10 brands are generating far more posts to reach their audience. With that in mind, the engagement numbers actually look even worse, the study shows.
(Two brands, MTV and Harley-Davidson, did, however, see total brand engagement increase over the same period.)
The findings come a few months after Facebook let it be known that it would be limiting the organic reach of many companies' advertising efforts, leading to speculation that it might force companies to pay for access to their followers.
A spokesman for Facebook referred a reporter to a recent FAQ by the company, which says, among other things, that Facebook's decline in organic brand reach is a phenomenon shared by other social media platforms. At least some of that is attributable to the ever-growing amount of content that users are posting, the post said.
Read more about the study here.