Facebook is the most popular social media platform with 2.74 billion monthly active users. If you’re on Facebook, you probably know how far-reaching it really is. From your school teacher to your hair-dresser to your pen-pal who lives a thousand miles away from you — everyone is on Facebook.
Why is knowing who’s using the platform and how they are using it important for marketers? Read on to find out as we explore the following Facebook statistics for creating your 2021 marketing strategies:
- Facebook Demographics & Usage
- Facebook Marketing Statistics per industry
- Facebook Mobile Statistics per industry
- Facebook Ads Statistics per industry
- Facebook Video Marketing Statistics
Facebook Demographics & Usage
Facebook demographics and usage statistics give us an idea of who uses Facebook the most, how often they visit the website, and how much time they spend on it.
It might seem like people of all ages use Facebook, and while this may be true, it is essential to note that users between the ages of 25 and 34 occupy the most space on Facebook.
However, the older generation is actively growing on Facebook. Users 65 years and older increased from 26% in 2018 to nearly 40% in 2019. Although they are growing in number, their demographic group still stands at 4.8% on Facebook.
The Millennials and Boomers, on the other hand, only increased by 2%, while Generation X reduced their Facebook use. Most teenagers migrated to other social media platforms like Instagram, YouTube, and Snapchat as their primary socialization platforms. Their Facebook usage dropped from 71% to only 51% in 2020.
You’ll also find high-income earners on Facebook. 75% of online users with an income of more than $75K are on Facebook. 82% of college graduates and 87% of coworkers also connect via Facebook.
The largest population on Facebook is from India, with over 270 million users, followed by 190 million from the U.S. Even though Asian-Pacific users comprise nearly 41.3% of monthly active users on Facebook, the U.S. and Canada’s 10.1% monthly active users generate over 48% of Facebook Ad revenue. If your business has a multinational presence, you can use this opportunity to approach ad markets with lower competition than North American ones.
When it comes to usage, the average U.S. adult spends an average of 34 minutes per day on the platform. You can get the most engagement on your ads if you post between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays as the traffic is highest in this time frame.
Facebook Marketing Statistics
Let’s take a look at several marketing statistics that showcase some buyer and marketer behavior.
Small businesses own 90 million pages on Facebook, and for every Facebook page, the average organic reach for a post is 5.2% of the page’s total likes. Over time, this percentage only drops lower as the on-platform activity becomes less engaging.
On the buyer front, 78% of American consumers discover products on Facebook. 17% of Facebook users join solely for following brands or companies. It shows that people do seek out products and services to purchase on Facebook. Your product WILL sell as long as it’s relevant with an engaging ad copy. Since posts with images account for 55% of total page posts, video posts account for 22.2%, and link posts make up 18.5%, you should add one visual element per page post to boost engagement.
When we talk about buyer behavior, e-commerce is the first industry that comes to mind.
E-Commerce
According to IBM estimates, countrywide lockdowns due to the Covid-19 pandemic have accelerated e-commerce adoption by up to five years.
In the U.S., food and drink sales will grow by 11.3%. Health, personal care, and beauty sales are projected to grow by 4.7% year over year in 2020. On the other hand, clothing, furniture, electronics, etc., will face challenges. Globally, it’s projected that revenues for the fashion sector will contract by 27-30% year over year in 2020.
Consumer Packaged goods
What do consumers of packaged goods like beverages, toiletries, candies, cosmetics, over-the-counter drugs, etc., look for? Consider the following stats.
- 77% of shoppers feel more connected to a brand if they can contact it directly to ask questions or provide feedback.
- 63% of consumers expect quick responses from businesses when they need their help.
- 24% of online shoppers gravitate towards brands that acknowledge their posts and incorporate their feedback into product updates.
- For 56% of consumers, it’s very important that the brands they buy from support the same values they believe in. Hence, 55% of them go for brands that employ environmentally friendly manufacturing practices.
- 34% of shoppers feel valued when brands seamlessly cancel, return or replace their orders.
Tips for marketers to build their brand loyalty:
- Clearly communicate your brand’s values, and be transparent about practices such as manufacturing processes to gain consumers’ trust.
- Personalize your communication.
- Remove unnecessary friction from their shopping experiences.
Facebook groups make us feel connected, providing a sense of community to its users. If you create a group about your brand, you’ll show up on your potential customer’s feed more often and have a better chance of building a relationship with them. Around 1.4 billion people drive value from Facebook groups, and industries like gaming, entertainment and media, travel, automobile, and property insurance prosper the most.
Gaming
Gamers love to connect with friends and other gamers by posting about their games in Facebook groups. They also exchange game recommendations in such cyberspaces. 40% of Canadian community gamers reported spending more than 50 Canadian dollars (about USD 40) on in-game purchases per month compared to only 16% of other mobile gamers. Marketers can use this by communicating with gamers in real-time during gameplay – in their messaging and advertising to them.
Entertainment and Media
The covid-19 pandemic amplified fan engagement on Facebook as shared experiences can make fans feel connected in a community with other fans and the artists.
- 49% of 18-34 year-olds in the U.K. feel that social media helps them get to know artists better.
- 43% of 18-34-year-olds in the U.S. believe that music is a valuable way to connect with others.
- 74% of music listeners in Australia follow artists on Facebook to keep up with artist news. While for brits, the percentage rests at 66.67%.
- 49% of U.S. concertgoers discover shows on Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, or WhatsApp — all Facebook platforms.
As a marketer, you can leverage digital communities for fan connection and engage users more closely using Facebook groups.
Automobile
The automobile industry benefits from social networking on Facebook as women mostly rely on their friends and family’s recommendations for purchasing a new vehicle.
- 78% find social media useful when deciding on new vehicle purchases.
- 34% of women discover new vehicles through the Facebook family of apps.
- 49% of vehicle enthusiasts share vehicle-related content with their network on social media.
- 86% of consumers want to engage with brands post-purchase.
- 57% of vehicle consumers use Facebook for vehicle-related activities.
Focus on creating compelling content through video and help vehicle consumers connect via Facebook groups to drive awareness and brand loyalty. Also, create different content for different audiences as consumers of different ages, genders, and life stages want different vehicle information.
Travel
Similar to the automobile industry, travel also relies on social networking on Facebook.
- 70% of travelers are influenced by friends and family’s recommendations when deciding which travel option to book.
- 53% of travelers use Facebook weekly to look at family and friends’ holiday pictures.
- 52% of leisure travelers rely on past experiences when evaluating flights and accommodation.
- 76% of leisure travelers use Facebook for travel-related activities.
- 65% of travelers desire post-purchase engagement from brands.
All marketers have to do is engage with travel consumers via Facebook groups or pages and highlight personalized packages and product differentiation to help people see the full value of travel experiences.
Property Insurance
- 33% of millennials evaluate property insurance brands and products online.
- 80% of insurance buyers consider recommendations from family and friends important for evaluation.
- 38% of millennials agree that Facebook and other social platforms are excellent sources for learning about car insurance.
- Millennials are 2.7x more likely than generation X and baby boomers to be interested in a car insurance brand or product they see advertised on Facebook and other social platforms.
- Millennials are 2x more likely than generation X and baby boomers to discover property insurance options via the Facebook family of apps.
Marketers can set millennials as their target audience on Facebook and provide agents that are easily accessible to hand out personalized advice and recommendations for every stage of the journey.
Facebook Ad Statistics
Facebook has become the primary platform for advertising products and services with its enormous reach of 2.74 billion users and algorithms running behind the screens. It generates most of its earnings from advertising and has become a highly competitive website as it harbours over 9 million advertisers. Consider the following Facebook ad statistics before launching your campaigns in 2021.
Earnings
The average price for Facebook ads dropped 6% in 2019, with a 37% increase in ad impressions; this becomes a sweet deal for marketers. You can get more for less — making the most of your ad dollars.
Wordstream conducted a study to calculate the average cost per click (CPC) for a Facebook Ad across all industries and placed the average CPC value at $1.72. Cost per click helps you understand how much you need to spend on Facebook Ads to get a good ROI (return on investment). Consider the following CPCs across different industries:
- Apparel — $0.45
- Auto — $2.24
- B2B — $2.52
- Beauty — $1.81
- Consumer Services — $3.08
- Education — $1.06
- Employment & Job Training — $2.72
- Finance & Insurance — $3.77
- Fitness — $1.90
- Home Improvement — $2.93
- Healthcare — $1.32
- Industrial Services — $2.14
- Legal — $1.32
- Real Estate — $1.81
- Retail — $0.70
- Technology — $1.27
- Travel & Hospitality — $0.63
Apparel, travel, hospitality, and other retailer industries have low CPCs, but they have the largest audiences, so marketers should be mindful of their budgets while running ads for such industries.
Facebook Mobile Statistics
The ad revenue generated by mobiles increased to an astronomical degree from 11% in 2012 to around 94% in 2019. Here we explore a few statistics that showcase mobile usage for Facebook, followed by a few industries that function on mobile marketing.
79% of Facebook users only log into Facebook through mobile. While 80.5% of users access Facebook using Android devices, and 14.3% use iOS. Ensure that your ad content is mobile-optimized and targets the right audience when running ads for app installation. An app designed for iOS devices will not install or run on Android devices.
Property Insurance
Millennials who buy car insurance are 3.5x more likely to say their mobile device plays a role in evaluating products than generation X or baby boomers. 25% of millennials purchase car insurance online on mobile. As a marketer, ensure that your insurance purchase process is easy and seamless via mobile.
Retail Banking
Consider the following stats before using Facebook for retail banking.
- 50% of current account consumers aged 18-34 discover or hear about new retail banking options on mobile devices, while the percentage rests at 28% for consumers over 53.
- 64% of 18-34-year-olds use Facebook for banking activities, compared with 50% of those 35 and over.
- 78% of consumers aged 18-34 want to see more content on social media for financial products and services.
With Facebook, you can interact with your account consumers to help them better understand their finances through human conversation, making their buyer journey as convenient as possible.
Gaming
The pandemic made a large majority of people engage with mobile gaming all around the world. U.S. saw a 28% increase in mobile gaming, while mobile gaming grew to 50% in the U.K. This influx doesn’t appear to be temporary: Most new mobile gamers surveyed were still playing in July 2020, months after the onset of the pandemic, and more than half say they plan to continue mobile gaming.
Facebook Video Marketing Statistics
It’s always easier to watch something than to read it. And this is why people prefer video posts over picture ad posts. Video content accounts for about 11% of Facebook posts with up to 8 billion views per day. The future of Facebook videos is now, so it’s time to put your video directing and editing skills into action.
Consider the following Facebook Video Marketing Statistics:
- Video ads primarily designed for mobiles make up for more than 50% of Facebook’s video revenue.
- Users watch 85% of Facebook videos without sound as they prefer to scroll in silence.
- 80% of users are annoyed when videos auto-play sound, and it gives them a negative impression of your brand. No one wants noise blaring out of their phones during a peaceful scrolling session.
- Square Facebook videos get 35% more views than landscape videos.
- It costs 7.5% less to get someone on Facebook to engage with square video than a rectangular video on both mobile and desktop.
Here’s what you can do with these statistics to create the perfect video strategy:
- Design an eye-catching imagery for your video.
- Add captions to make your video advertisement more accessible and engaging.
- Pick square videos instead of landscape ones.
- Focus on creating mobile-friendly videos.
While adopting the right video ad strategy can increase your ROI, you should also keep in mind that Facebook users are 4x more likely to watch live streams instead of recorded videos. So it’s best to go live with your brand products and services to generate more engagement.
