It’s relatively easy for businesses to come to this conclusion; it’s when they consider the next questions that confusion and frustration can arise:
- What platforms make sense for marketing your business?
- How can your business best utilize these platforms?
- What are the pros and cons of one platform over another?
- Should your business be on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn?
- What about Pinterest or Snapchat?
- What should your expectations be?
These are common questions we hear from companies looking to enter or expand their presence in the social marketing arena.
Today we’ll look at Facebook – vital statistics, its pros, and cons as a platform, and a few best practices – to help you decide if it’s a platform your business should consider.
In this series we also examine Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Pinterest.
Facebook Statistics to Consider in Choosing a Social Platform
With 2.23 billion monthly active users and 1.47 billion daily active users across the globe, Facebook is the granddaddy of social media platforms. It is typically the first platform businesses ask about because of its massive size, clearly a check on the pro side for Facebook.
But this isn’t the only compelling statistic in Facebook’s favor.
Percentage of US Adults using Facebook
According to a study commissioned by Social Media Today, Facebook has 210 million users in the United States. As the statistics below demonstrate, these users are fairly evenly distributed across gender, education, economic, and geographical lines:
- By gender: 74% female / 62% male
- By education:
- 60% high school or less
- 71% of some college
- 77% college+
- By income:
- 85% of Americans earning less than $30K
- 88% earning $30-$60K
- 81% earning $60-$70K
- 88% earning $70-$80K
- 86% earning $80K+
- By Location:
- 75% of urban residents
- 67% of suburban residents
- 58% of rural residents
Five hundred new users are joining Facebook every minute, though more than 270 million Facebook profiles (globally) are estimated to be fake. Not only that, according to recent research done by Edison Research, Facebook has an estimated 15 million fewer users in 2019 than it did in 2017. Due (in part) to privacy issues the platform has encountered over the past year, it may also stem from the departure of younger segments for other platforms.
All that said, Facebook is still the leading social media platform in terms of users and daily engagement, with 51% of American users visiting Facebook several times a day and 23% visiting once a day. It is also the big player in terms of marketing.
Facebook Marketing Statistics
According to a survey conducted by Social Media Today:
- 67% of marketers said Facebook is the most important social platform
- 70% of marketers said they use Facebook to acquire new customers
- 47% of marketers said Facebook was their top influence for purchases
- 93% of marketers use Facebook advertising regularly
So, you’ll have to decide if these statistics compel your company’s participation or not.
Facebook as a Business Platform – Pros
The statistics just considered offering the most compelling reason when considering Facebook as a platform for your business. Indeed, Facebook remains highly relevant for one simple reason: people – a lot of them – still use it. But there are other pros to consider:
- Familiar and easy to use for most
- Easy to target audience based on specific demographics, including location, age, gender, job title, and interests
- Does not require a large budget to expand reach by boosting posts
Facebook as a Business Platform – Cons
- The algorithm is complicated and ever-changing, leading to frustration and a need for frequent strategy tweaks
- Posts from friends and family have priority over business posts
- Organic reach without boosting posts is now effectively dead, estimated at a measly 1%-6% of followers
- To be an active participant in the long term, you must stay on top of changing trends & best practices as Facebook changes the type of content to it chooses to give preference (with video as the current golden child)
- Despite its large population, if your business’ audience (buyer persona) is not on Facebook, then it is not a site for you
Use these lists of pros and cons to help you determine its potential for as a marketing platform for your company.
A Handful of Current Tips for Facebook
Notice the word current in the header. Facebook’s algorithm changes. Other best practices – completing your business profile in depth, posting high-quality content that users will want to engage with and share – will never go out of fashion.
- Use video – it is outperforming still image posts by up to 73%
- Use Facebook Stories and live video, both currently have enhanced the reach
- Don’t link to YouTube videos or videos hosted on another platform; instead, upload videos so they’re native to Facebook
- Native content is always best; all types of posts that link out of Facebook have less reach and engagement
- Post at optimum times when possible, using automated updates if needed
- Boost posts; since organic reach has plummeted this is essential for businesses
- Use content that encourages comments of 5+ words; comments have a more significant impact than one-click likes
Finally, …test, test, test! Then look at your insights to see what type of posts are working best for you.
Are you Ready for Your Mulligan?
If you find it makes sense for your business to partner with a content marketing professional, our team at Mulligan Management Group will welcome the chance to sit down with you and discuss your needs. Visit our website www.mulliganmanagementgroup.com, email us at info@mulliganmanagement.com, or call De-de at 330-472-7673.
Mulligan Management Group www.mulliganmanagementgroup.com is a digital marketing agency located in Hudson, Ohio. Our team of professionals helps our clients build their internet presence and expand their authority online.
Our services range from website design and development to professional content creation, to social media strategies and implementation. We also offer to consult in all functional areas.
