Speaking with Nicola Mendelsohn

Elen Lewis speaks to Nicola Mendelsohn, Facebook’s Vice President for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, about the challenges faced by social media in the future and why trying, failing and learning is so important.

What do all marketers need to know about the future?
Now the world has gone mobile, the knock-on effect is the exponential growth of video. Today 100 million hours of video are watched every single day on Facebook. But we’re not just watching more videos: consumers are moving towards immersive video experiences as well – whether that’s Stories on Instagram, interactive 360-degree videos on mobile, or Facebook Live. The latter, for example, attracts 10 times more comments on Facebook than a standard video, representing a huge opportunity for marketers to reach out and understand what’s on people’s minds at that very moment. 

What do you think are the biggest challenges faced by social media platforms today?
Without a doubt, the biggest challenge is the sheer pace of change. When I first joined Facebook three years ago, we had only just acquired Instagram. We hadn’t yet bought WhatsApp or Oculus, and the separate Messenger app didn’t exist. Fast forward to today and we’ve created a family of apps and services that work both together and independently to connect more people all over the world. Keeping up with this pace of change is challenging but it’s also incredibly exciting. Facebook is still only 1% there in achieving its mission, so I can’t wait to see what the next three, five or ten years will bring.

What does bold marketing leadership look like?
For me, it’s about being brave enough to ask yourself and your team hard questions to ensure you’re keeping up with the consumer and remaining disruptive. We have a mantra at Facebook: “What would you do if you weren’t afraid?” Trying, failing and learning is a process you need to go through – it makes you better, more motivated and more willing to shake things up.

How did your time on the agency side prepare you for your role at Facebook?
Agencies have been a huge part of my life and career – and this experience has been invaluable because agencies play a huge role in our ecosystem. Facebook is a partnership company, so in order to do my job well, I need to understand what those partners need. Working at agencies has given me the context behind our conversations and allows me to truly understand the challenges that they, our clients and partners face. It has also given me the understanding and ability to show agencies, both media and creative, that the Facebook family is the right partner for building a global business, from anywhere.

Who inspires you and why?
The women from all over the UK who are setting up and running their own businesses. Earlier this year, Facebook launched #SheMeansBusiness alongside the Federation of Small Businesses and the British Chamber of Commerce, to encourage women to start their own businesses. I had the chance to meet so many inspirational women who are really making opportunities for themselves.

What advice would you give to your 17-year-old-self?
I’d come back to two more phrases stuck to the walls at Facebook: “Done is better than perfect” and “Fail hard”. I’d tell my 17-year-old self to go out there, try it, and if it doesn’t work, try something new. As long as you learn from your mistakes, you won’t make the same mistake again.

Nicola Mendelsohn is just one of the speakers at our Global Annual Conference on November 17^th alongside McDonald’s global CMO, Silvia Lagnado, and NASA astronaut, Ed Lu.