Jeff Revoy

[Commentary] The Internet is ablaze with chatter of how Facebook is “backstabbing” advertisers and “corroding” the relationships between brands and the followers they have worked so hard to attain.

But before you sever your social marketing ties with Facebook, take a second and review the situation. Facebook isn’t necessarily backstabbing marketers (although they are trying to make money). Instead, the social network is simply growing up and going down the natural path of marketing evolution -- one that we’ve already seen with Search.

Today, businesses understand that investing in paid search and search engine optimization is necessary to drive relevant traffic to their business. More recently, Google increased focus to the quality of content in paid and organic search. When companies try to game the system with generic, bland content or excessive links, their rankings and traffic drop.

If you want to keep rankings or traffic high, you have to pay Google to stay on top in sponsored links and keep up with SEO. We’re witnessing the same process underway at Facebook, so don’t take it personally. Facebook is not targeting or attacking the businesses they spent so many years cultivating -- it’s just the natural evolution in marketing.

[Revoy is the CEO of Viralheat]