Facebook is expected to lose nearly two million users younger than 25 to growing social platform Snapchat in 2018, leaving many to wonder whether Facebook will remain a prominent business partner in 2018.

Interestingly, Snapchat, a photo-sharing platform, has established itself as a lucrative business partner for building strong consumer connections that grow ecommerce. In fact, you may have recently heard of Snapchat’s latest update, a controversial algorithm said to personalize user content with more precision than any other platform.

With 187 million daily users, this initiative establishes Snapchat as a prominent advertiser for products and services.

Take, for example, Snapchat’s beta testing of a virtual one-night pop-up shop with Air Jordan sneakers. The sneakers sold out overnight, and the campaign showcased the platform’s ability to use augmented reality to maximize app-integrated sales.

So, what does this mean for Facebook and its competence in growing your ecommerce influence?

Well, Facebook still has a membership reach of 2.1 billion, an indicator for the platform’s overall success and expertise in both organic and paid advertising tactics.

Let’s review where Facebook shines as a business partner:

-- Influencer Marketing. Simply put, consumers are looking to those they trust for buying decisions. Influencer marketing was on the rise in 2017, and businesses can no longer afford to ignore the spending influence of organic consumer content – and no platform allows for this experience more natively than Facebook.

-- Community. A good product is no longer enough for your marketing strategy. Instead consumers want to buy into a community. Managing your brand identity has never been easier with Facebook Business Manager, Groups and Pages, where consumers are welcome to interact, share content and provide feedback.

-- Tools. More than any other platform, Facebook houses a variety of marketing tools – from boosted posts, follower polls, form-driven ads with gated content, interactive Canvas ads and adaptive video – there’s very little chance Facebook won’t have something for your brand to leverage.

-- Search Engine Optimization. It is a fact that Facebook increases your SEO. In fact, Facebook collaborates with SEO like no other social platform because it drives traffic to your website, thus increasing visibility through keywords, lowering bounce rates and manufacturing click-through rates.

If you’re still questioning Facebook’s continued longevity, don’t forget that the platform launched more than a dozen new features in 2017 alone, including Facebook Live, Facebook Shopping Tabs and Facebook @ Work.

Facebook even introduced Snapchat-like face filters for Facebook Live, proving again the platform’s agility and eagerness to adapt to user preferences.

Though we recommend diversifying your brand across many social platforms where you may find an audience, we do not believe dumping Facebook as a strategic digital marketing partner, nor do we see a successor coming soon.

Emily Cupples, marketing strategist at RedRover Sales & Marketing Strategy, can be reached at redrovercompany.com.