Like many, when I woke up in the mornings I went directly to my phone. I unlocked my screen and clicked on that all too familiar blue and white app. Facebook held my attention for a few minutes until I was finally ready to get out of bed. I recently realized that I spent too much time on social media so the familiar app is no longer the first thing I see in the morning. To many Americans, it is still a pivotal part of their day.
Sixty-eight percent of U.S. adults use Facebook as of January 2018. Who’s using Facebook, and does it still hold potential for marketers?
Who uses it?
According to the Pew Research Center, while all demographic groups find Facebook popular, some may be more likely to use it than others. Millennials may be taking over Facebook. Ages 18-29 are the most likely to use this platform while those 65 and older are the least likely. Even though 34% of teens, 12-17, think that Facebook is for the old, they continue to use it. 76% of teens used Facebook in 2017. Higher education is a priority for many Facebook users, 77% of users have graduated college. Users tend to be from all over but 75% of them are from urban communities.
What do they use it for?
People can use Facebook for many things. An article by HootSuite showed that most utilize this platform for events, products, news, messaging, and videos. 72% of millennials used Facebook to find information about a live event. In 2017, a study by Curalate found that 52% of U.S. consumers report seeing a product they were interested in on Facebook. Even though they do not always trust the news collected from social media, 45% of U.S. adults get their news from Facebook. Instead of texting, many Facebook users utilize Messenger. On average, over seven billion messages were sent through the platform every day in 2017. As if that wasn’t impressive enough, Facebook gets over eight billion video views on average every day.
Should brands use Facebook to advertise?
Finding the right place to advertise a product or service can be challenging. Facebook advertising is used by 93% of marketers on a regular basis. It may be wise to remember, posting to social media may be more effective if you post at the right time. The best time to post on the platform is weekday afternoons. Since 76% of U.S. consumers have purchased products they have seen advertised on social media, it may be something to think about for the future.
There are many platforms to choose from in today’s market. Facebook may be a good choice for your business depending on your target market.