Recent Facebook Usage Stats and What They Mean for Marketers

Have you taken a break from Facebook recently? Well, your target audience may have, according to recent statistics from a Pew Research Center report on usage.

Learn more about this report and what it means for Marketers in the Resource of the Week below.

Each week, I share helpful resources across my social profiles to help small business owners and solopreneurs keep up with social media marketing, and optimize it for their business. What you’ll find in this weekly blog post:

(1) Resource of the Week

(2) Other Must Read Articles from the Week

(3) Facebook News & Updates from the week:

(1) Resource of the Week

New Study Shows Growing Number of People Taking Extended Breaks from Facebook Use | Social Media Today

42% of Facebook users surveyed took a break from the site in the past year (see chart from the Pew Research Center below):

What does that mean for marketers?

While a Facebook business page may still be the best way to connect with your target audience, these new statistics can also be a signal to test and possibly expand your efforts into other platforms or tools.

This could mean using other features on Facebook that get better reach and engagement, like Facebook Groups or Live-Streaming.

Facebook-owned Apps like Instagram and Messenger may be worth exploring and integrating with your current Facebook marketing efforts.

From the article:

These statistics are “…not to say brands and social media marketers should necessarily give Facebook less focus, but it does underline the need to diversify, to expand your social efforts along with new usage habits to ensure that you’re active where you can meet audience attention.”

Find the whole Pew Research Center report here: “Americans are changing their relationship with Facebook”