Mind-Blowing Facebook Stats and What to Do With Them

Facebook now has over 200 million users. Who are they, and what should you do about them?

By now, you’ve probably heard that Facebook has exceeded 200 million users. Clearly social media is exploding and the stats aren’t just unprecedented, they’re mind-blowing! To demonstrate this, I did a some stat research this weekend to share with you here.

How can you use this info and put it to practical use?

As media planners and online marketers, we must look at media buying tactics that go way beyond the list of placements, sizes, and interaction options we have on the menu today. Media buying’s future won’t just be about buying clicks and impressions, it will also be about encouraging peer-to-peer impressions and getting people engaged with your content. It will be about doing Facebook Engagement Ads and using chiclets to generate clicks and to get people to become your friends or fans or to post or share your content. It will be about potentiating the power of your media dollars.

Absorb these stats, share them, and realize the potential of what’s happening. You can also incorporate them into presentations and e-mail you send to colleagues and clients, to show the power of social media marketing.

Let’s start with the big news. Last week on Facebook’s blog, Mark Zuckerberg wrote, “We will welcome our 200 millionth active user to Facebook some time today.” The post offers some Flash animation with some interesting facts and a heat map showing that in some areas, like the Northeast United States, Facebook has 900 users per every 10 square miles. Here are some more usage stats:

  • We live in “exponential times,” according to a video, “Did You Know 3.0.” Consider that only took Facebook two years to get to 50 million users, compared to other media:
    • Radio: 38 years
    • Television: 13 years
    • Internet: 4 years
    • iPod: 3 years
  • According to Wikipedia, if Facebook were a country, it would be the fifth most populated nation on the planet, following China, India, the U.S., and Indonesia.
  • According to Compete’s “Top 10 Sites Ranked By: Total Time Spent,” Facebook ranks above all else for time spent and page views, including Google.
  • Facebook is growing like crazy, with over 500,000 new users per day. On January 7, 2009, Zuckerberg posted on the Facebook blog that Facebook had reached 150 million users. On April 12, he posted that it had reached 200 million. That’s 549,450 new users per day!

Who’s behind that growth? It’s not just kids! According to Inside Facebook’s article, “Fastest Growing Demographic on Facebook: Women Over 55“:

  • Baby boomers and seniors are the fastest-growing group, especially women over 55. I can attest personally, as my mother, who is over 55, is a new and avid member of Facebook. (And this is a women who once told me she “didn’t need the Internet, she was fine with her AOL.”)
  • 45 percent of Facebook’s U.S. audience is now 26 years old or older.
  • Facebook is growing in every age/gender demographic. The fastest growing segment? Women over 55, up 175.3 percent in the last 120 days.
  • 8 percent of Facebook’s users, roughly 16 million people, are over 45, and 3 percent (roughly 6 million people), are over 55. This is a huge quantity of online-savvy boomers and seniors who can be targeted with pinpoint accuracy.

In addition, according to “Facebook is Your Father’s (and Mother’s) Social Network” in “Wired” magazine, the biggest growth in terms of absolute new users over the last six month are people 35 to 44. Compared to September 2008, over 4 million more U.S. women aged 35 to 44 and nearly 3 million more U.S. men aged 35 to 44 used Facebook in March 2009.

Why is Facebook growing so fast with older people? Two reasons: First, for the same reason it’s growing with other age groups. People want to connect with friends new and old. Second, and more important, is that people can connect and stay connected with their kids and what they’re up to.

Even with 200 million users, Facebook (and the rest of the Web) has a long way to go and plenty of room for growth. Consider these facts:

  • Of 6.7 billion people on the planet, only 23.8 percent (about 1.6 billion) have Internet access.
  • Of those 1.6 billion online users, only 8 percent regularly use Facebook. That means 92 percent of Internet users have yet to try or discover it.
  • With the 5.1 billion people not yet online, Facebook, and all of us who dedicate their careers to online marketing, we have a lot of growth ahead of us.

Want even more practical advice on getting tactical with social? Check out a couple more of my columns: “Social Media Integration Tips from SES NY” and “Socializing Your Banners With Chiclets.”

Did I leave any out? Let me know below.

Join ClickZ Expert Julie Batten for a free Webinar: Should You Outsource Your Online Marketing Services?, Thursday, April 16, 2009, at 1 pm (EDT). Learn why outsourcing your online marketing activities — including search marketing — can help you save money and achieve better results.

Subscribe to get your daily business insights

Whitepapers

US Mobile Streaming Behavior
Whitepaper | Mobile

US Mobile Streaming Behavior

5y

US Mobile Streaming Behavior

Streaming has become a staple of US media-viewing habits. Streaming video, however, still comes with a variety of pesky frustrations that viewers are ...

View resource
Winning the Data Game: Digital Analytics Tactics for Media Groups
Whitepaper | Analyzing Customer Data

Winning the Data Game: Digital Analytics Tactics for Media Groups

5y

Winning the Data Game: Digital Analytics Tactics f...

Data is the lifeblood of so many companies today. You need more of it, all of which at higher quality, and all the meanwhile being compliant with data...

View resource
Learning to win the talent war: how digital marketing can develop its people
Whitepaper | Digital Marketing

Learning to win the talent war: how digital marketing can develop its peopl...

2y

Learning to win the talent war: how digital market...

This report documents the findings of a Fireside chat held by ClickZ in the first quarter of 2022. It provides expert insight on how companies can ret...

View resource
Engagement To Empowerment - Winning in Today's Experience Economy
Report | Digital Transformation

Engagement To Empowerment - Winning in Today's Experience Economy

1m

Engagement To Empowerment - Winning in Today's Exp...

Customers decide fast, influenced by only 2.5 touchpoints – globally! Make sure your brand shines in those critical moments. Read More...

View resource