There's been a lot of talk around teens leaving Facebook, and if you're a brand that's targeting teens that's cause for concern. But if you're a brand targeting teens, my guess is you've seen it coming. Heck, even Facebook has seen it coming. They've offered to buy Snapchat. They tried to launch Poke. They purchased Instagram. The writing has been on the wall for awhile and while Zuckerberg may be many things, stupid he is not.For those not targeting teens your target demo is most likely spending an inordinate amount of time on Facebook. Look at all the stats and Facebook still reigns king. Will it in five years, ten years? Who knows? But you can't predict the future. It's like hesitating to advertise on a certain TV show because you're not sure it will be popular three years from now.
What you should be doing is focusing a majority of your efforts where your customers are spending their time now. Not where you think they may be five years from now, and not panicking. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with preparing for the future. You should be thinking about how to collect data from your Facebook fans. Get their information in your database so if you do ever jump ship from Facebook you can stay in touch. But don't let a few articles, whether it be the crazy Princeton infectious disease study or the fear-based "teens are leaving" headlines, drive your marketing plan. Get a grip, stay calm and talk to your customers while they're still checking the newsfeed.