SXSW Sydney: Neil Patel says ‘Facebook is sexy'
'If you ask your friends, no one talks about Facebook. But you know what’s really cool and effective about it? People like my mum use it.'
In his keynote at SXSW Sydney on Tuesday, digital marketing guru Neil Patel said something few would dare to admit out loud: Facebook is sexy again.
“People think no one uses Facebook anymore,” he said. “If you ask your friends, no one talks about Facebook. But you know what’s really cool and effective about it? People like my mum use it.”
Stumbling on his amusing choice of words, he said: “You know what’s sexy about people like my mum? That sounds bad to say, you know what’s great about people like my mum using platforms like Facebook? She has money.”
It was a pointed reminder for marketers in the room, who are, instead, often steadfast on chasing younger audiences across TikTok and Instagram. Facebook’s demographic skews older, which Patel argued is precisely what makes it so powerful and profitable.
“People like my mum bought their houses 30 plus years ago when it was affordable. They bought stocks like Apple and Facebook when they came out and never sold them. They can swipe their credit car. They have money, they have disposable income,” he explained.
He joked that in comparison, when Gen Z “swipe their credit cards”, it’s usually backed by their parents… the people with the power.
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“When you look at the Gen Zers, when they swipe their credit cards, it’s usually backed by their mums.”
While going viral and gaining cultural relevance amongst Gen Z is all well and good, Patel pointed out that engagement means nothing without purchasing power. The so-called “unsexy” platforms like Facebook are still among those driving the most sales.
When looking at product discovery and lead quality, he argued Facebook continues to perform.
“The money in marketing often comes from what people think is ugly.”
