Is Facebook really a medium where you should be spending money?
With so many options totally happy to suck up your marketing dollars, Facebook’s laser-like targeting features is what sets it apart from all the rest.
Why is Facebook so popular and so successful? Before I answer this question, let me tell you a little about my career and you may understand why I am so impressed by Social Media – and specifically Facebook. I also believe that your Facebook Business Page has the potential to be one of the most powerful magnets for you to attract new business.
My first job (in the early 70’s) was as a cadet journalist in my hometown newspaper, and from there, I spent almost 19 years in radio and television working all over Australia and in the United States. During this time, I returned to study Business and majored in Marketing as it was my goal to establish my own advertising agencies. Trough the late 80’s and 90’s in Australia, business boomed for ad agencies. It wasn’t really until the mid to late 90’s that the internet made the traditional advertising agency business model change, but that’s a whole different story.
In 2002, I sold out of my advertising agency in Australia and moved to Vancouver, Canada. (In Canada I am also recognized by the government as an international foreign expert in Marketing.) I worked equally between the USA and Canada until returning to Australia in 2005. I then watched very closely as the Facebook juggernaut began to take control, and it has continued with no signs of stopping.
The reason why Social Media is so successful?
My belief is that it offers everything all the other mediums offer, together with opportunities to maintain close contact with friends and family throughout the world, and be entertained.
Impressive Data for Marketers
The average person has 338 Facebook friends and checks their Facebook “feed” 14 times a day and spends between 20 and 40 dedicated minutes a day on Facebook.
Facebook was launched in February 2004 and has changed media consumption habits throughout the world, however it was not until the IPO in Feb 2012 for a market capitalization of $104 billion USD that many started to really take notice.
Revenue in Q3 2016 was more than $7 billion - up 59% on the previous year.
Today, more than 57 percent of millennials log into Facebook specifically to get news and information. 70 percent of all people read or watch news stories or headlines posted by others. As a marketing and advertising professional, I can tell you this research data is too impressive to ignore. Te decline in newspaper and magazine readership (and sales) is well documented. Te decline in the average ratings for television programs is driven by the ever-increasing choice of cable and internet channels, and radio also has its challenges with Spotify, Google Play, Pandora, and iTunes as well as digital radio and more eroding the average number of listeners to your favorite radio station.
The one force that is dominating modern-day society is social media. We know this because many of us check our Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Twitter feeds several times a day. And your customers do the same thing. This isn’t surprising, but this also doesn’t mean you should be throwing all your advertising spend into every social platform out there. Yet, there is one social network that ALL marketers simply cannot ignore, and that is Facebook, and it must be included in your advertising mix.
Here are some more facts;
Worldwide, there are over 1.86 billion monthly active Facebook users (Facebook MAUs) which are a 17 percent increase year over year. (Source: Facebook as of 02/01/17)
There are 1.15 billion mobile daily active users (Mobile DAU) for December 2016, an increase of 23 percent year-over-year. (Source: Facebook as of 2/01/17)
1.23billion people log onto Facebook daily active users (Facebook DAU) for September 2016, which represents an 18% increase year over year (Source: Facebook as 02/01/17)
On average, the ‘Like’ and ‘Share’ Buttons are viewed across almost 10 million websites daily. (Source: Facebook as of 10/2/2014)
Five new profiles are created every second. (Source: ALL Facebook 2012)
Facebook users are 76% female (out of 100%
of all females) and 66% male (out of 100% of all
males).
Photo uploads total 300 million per day.
(Source: Gizmodo)
50% of 18-24-year-olds go on Facebook when they wake up. (Source: The Social Skinny)
42% of marketers report that Facebook is critical or important to their business. (Source: State of Inbound Marketing 2012)
16 Million local business pages have been created as of May 2013 which is a 100 percent increase from 8 million in June 2012. (Source: Facebook).
Adding Facebook to your Marketing Mix
The targeting capabilities offered by Facebook are exceptional. Wastage is reduced dramatically, and Facebook allows you to find new qualified leads easily. Unlike Google AdWords PPC (Pay per click) Facebook ads can be targeted to the users’ sex, profile, age, geographic location, and interests. Te refinements available enable precise audience targeting.
Your advertising plan and media mix within your overall marketing plan and strategy must include social media, and for me, Facebook is the best for many reasons. However, it means that you must be driving content into your page many times a day, every day, and you must ensure that it’s not all boring advertising. Content must be creative. Content must be interesting. Content must be engaging.
Let me put it this way, Social Media is a channel – just like your favorite TV channel or favorite radio station, and Facebook is the MVP.
