Facebook's user base is aging: what does this mean for marketers?

2023-04-19
243
Author: Going to sea is easy
Source: overseadia

Facebook's user base is aging: what does this mean for marketers?

 

Do you need to change your marketing strategy as your Facebook user base ages? What does this mean for your business?

 

Facebook has long been the king of social networks and shows no signs of decline in the future. However, with the popularity of Facebook, some interesting things have begun to happen.

 

From Facebook's perspective, most of them are positive. For example, in a recent study, Facebook was the only social network rated as a "basic utility" by most social media users, but one area where Facebook seems to be losing its edge is the youth market.

 

Aging Facebook user group

 

Facebook is definitely popular with the older generation, and in a 2014 study, it was estimated that 56% of online adults aged 65 and above have Facebook accounts. This proportion is high, but Facebook's core user group seems to be people in their 20s, 30s, and 40s.

 

Facebook is a platform, and as the network expands, the more time you spend on it, the harder it becomes to leave. Therefore, once you establish connections with many friends, few people will give up on it. This means that when people adopt it in their teens and twenties, it is new and fresh, and as they age, they stay there. However, new users are often people in the social circle who are already on Facebook, such as elderly people.

 

For teenagers who want to start using it, their friends need to do so, otherwise it's just a place for their parents to hang out. Because we haven't seen young people adopting Facebook on a large scale like the generation in their 20s to 30s a few years ago, teenagers are more likely to stay away from it. Their social life is not yet deeply ingrained in Facebook's culture.

 

What keeps teenagers away from Facebook?

 

Some people suggest that the main reason why teenagers are less willing to use Facebook is privacy. This is a privacy issue that has been troubling teenagers. Their parents use Facebook, their teachers, and countless others who may not necessarily want to peek at their interactions with friends, their selfies, and the things they share. For the previous generation, Facebook was a fun and cool way to socialize, but for teenagers, it could be a place for them to be checked or embarrassed.

 

From Facebook's perspective, this is a disadvantage of Facebook's lack of attractiveness, and nothing can disappoint young people faster than losing privacy.

 

What do teenagers switch to?

 

Although teenagers may not be as active on Facebook as before, this does not necessarily mean they are avoiding social media. On the contrary, they are one of the largest users of the entire social media industry.

 

However, based on statistical data, they seem to prefer the photo sharing network Instagram and the image centric messaging system Snapchat. Compared to Twitter, teenagers also seem to prefer Tumblr's Weibo, indicating that Facebook is not the only mature social network that has lost attention. Teenagers seem to enjoy sharing photos and using apps like Snapchat, which do not broadcast but privately send messages to people in their network. Interestingly, Instagram belongs to Facebook, so although Facebook may be losing teenagers, its entire empire seems to still keep them within the circle.

 

What does this mean for marketers using Facebook?

 

You may think that any decline in population will make Facebook's marketing prospects less attractive, but in reality, in most cases, this is not the case. In fact, for most products and services, it would be better to market to an audience mainly composed of working elderly people, as teenagers have little independent spending power from their parents.

 

Although a small portion of brands and businesses that need to directly attract the attention of teenagers should now be companies looking for marketing opportunities such as Snapchat and Instagram, these products are increasingly being used in this way,.

 

In fact, if you look at the most recommended applications for marketing small and medium-sized enterprises, integration with Facebook remains an important feature. Perhaps there will be a significant shift in the way people view Facebook, from innovative and youthful things to healthier and more accessible things.

 

Those of us who grew up with it are now accustomed to seeing our grandmother there, and our friends who used to post party photos are now posting photos of their children. However, when we consider whether these children themselves are willing to join a network that includes the entire album of their mothers in various types of "first day of school" photos, it is easy to see why they are unwilling.

 

Perhaps Facebook's own inclusiveness is alienating teenagers, and this situation is likely to continue, as almost every pre adolescent child shares their entire childhood online today.

 

For marketers, Facebook may become the online equivalent of a TV advertising spot in the middle of a soap opera or documentary. Perfect for reaching a wide audience with predictable flavors, but if you want to look innovative or trendy, this is not your first stop.

 

 

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