In spite of having 38 million likes on Facebook and 26 million followers on Instagram, PlayStation is maintaining its complete radio silence on both platforms. Back in early July, PlayStation stopped advertising on Facebook, and it hasn't posted a single thing since.
When PlayStation removed Facebook integration back in October 2019, there was no listed reason as to why. But this new Facebook and Instagram silence, however, was part of a boycott. It was a concerted effort between Sony, Coca-Cola, Starbucks, and many others to remove advertising from the two social media giants in an effort to force them to change the way they handle hate speech. July 1, 2020 was the last date of a post from Sony's hit console on either social media site.
Although the PlayStation brand claimed it would return to Facebook at the beginning of August, there is still not a whisper on either platform from the Japanese console giant. With a brand new PlayStation 5 console to advertise, Sony will likely need Facebook's algorithms to connect to those who are still on the fence about upgrading. It also has quite a few followers on Instagram, and could use the advertising there as well.
It's hard to forget that the PS5's logo reveal on Instagram broke records for likes, and Facebook and Instagram most likely miss the advertising money as much as PlayStation needs the social media attention for its brand. While still active on Twitter, it has only 19 million followers there, and will most likely need the other two social media platforms for the advertising the PS5 will need before launch sometime this winter.
Perhaps PlayStation has seen some sort of progress in the #StopHateForProfit movement that regular users haven't had access to. Or perhaps it is just taking its time going back to Facebook and Instagram, hoping to hit the social media giants in the wallet in hopes of getting them to listen. A whole month without advertising money from PlayStation, Coke, and other big brands can't be good for either Facebook or Instagram.
Alternatively, Sony's fans being upset about the PlayStation State of Play announcements and taking to social media about it has given Sony all the attention it needs for the moment. Fans who were hoping for news about the PlayStation 5 were incredibly upset to find that the State of Play would be all about the aging PS4's newest games and not the next generation. Either way, it looks like PlayStation isn't looking to return to social media as originally promised, but that could change any day now.
Source: PushSquare