2020 Facebook Insights for Businesses

January 7, 2020

Tags: digital marketing, facebook, pittsburgh digital marketing,

Facebook, the social media behemoth beloved by digital marketers, has a market cap of $592.56 billion as of early January 2020. This is an advertising playground for business owners, where you can get lost (there’s so many advertising options), or even make new friends (in a community group). So much money goes from digital marketers representing businesses to Facebook, that key insights have been derived to guide your path to success.

As a digital marketing professional who utilizes this social media channel, I wanted to share and comment on a few of the “27 Top Facebook Demographics that Matter to Social Media Marketers” by Katie Sehl at Hootsuite. Sehl effectively shares top insights that can give you a sense of who Facebook serves from a business perspective. I can tell you that this company gives a major source of love (#5), pain (#10), frustration (#24), and success (#7). Without it, we’d be scrambling for other digital channels that provide a lot less value to clients.

#5. Seven in 10 U.S. adults use Facebook – “According to Pew Research Center, 71% of U.S. adults use the social network.”

A little birdie whispered in our ear: Go where the people are! Facebook, even 16 years after being founded in 2004, is still the place to be online. As a digital marketer, I love being able to target a specific audience, and they are almost all on Facebook. So, when thinking about how your campaign can really make an impact, put some money into this channel for maximum awareness.

#7. Facebook is used by people of all ages – “Facebook has a fairly even spread of users across most age groups. For example, more than 75% of Americans between 18-49 years old use Facebook. Within that age range, there’s little variance. In fact, just as many 18-29 year-olds as 30-49 year-olds use Facebook in the U.S. In other words, just as many kids use Facebook as parents.”

Since you have a product or service, you should know who buys and uses it. When you have this user profile, it’s much easier to dial-in your targeting, write appropriate ad copy, and select the exact type of user who will use your product. That’s what makes me think “success;” finding age-appropriate consumers and serving them great content.

#10. In the U.S., more women use Facebook than men – “Findings from a Pew Research Center survey show that 75% of women in the United States are on Facebook. By comparison, 63% of men use the platform.”

This statistic is great to know, albeit a bit painful. Where and how do we find specific men to market to? Well, try Google Ads and YouTube ads! When you know that the majority of women are online, you can tailor your ads and content to them!

#24. More than a quarter of people feel Facebook does not classify them correctly – “According to a Pew Research Center survey, 27% of people think they are not accurately represented by Facebook’s classifications. On the flip side, 59% of users think classifications are ‘very accurate.’”

When people join groups, “like” certain content, add key relationship details online, not to mention Facebook buying and collecting data, a person’s ad profile is created (I like to think curated). Even the majority of people think that Facebook is “getting it right.” But, on the flip side, it can be frustrating when you set up your ad targeting and you don’t get results right away. You always need to be launching, testing, and refining for maximum results.

If you’re a business, you must spend a portion of your advertising dollars on Facebook. If you’re not seeing results from your ads, try new creative, copy, a new CTA, a new landing page, or contact HBT Digital Consulting to help set up your ads.