Commentary
Facebook Still No. 1 For Teens -- But Is It No. 1 Ad Medium?
- by Maarten Albarda , Featured Contributor, March 16, 2015
In the meantime, Facebook is the truly big thing if you’re after teens. Measurement firm GlobalWebIndex reported the global Top 10 social media networks for 16- to 19-year-olds (excluding China). It is very clear that Facebook is still the social media winner, with 80% of teens having an account, and about 50% of teens reporting “active use” (defined as using at least once a month).
No. 2 is YouTube (just over 75% have an account, and 35% report active usage), followed by Google Plus. I am going to discount that one because it is probably more a reflection of teen usage of other Google products (like Gmail and Hangouts), which are all bundled into these numbers, as far as I know. So the next No. 3 is Twitter, with a little over 60% reporting that they have an account, but only about 25% reporting active usage. Instagram rounds out the Top 5 (40% accounts; 22% active).
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As an advertising medium, Facebook is also No. 1 in social media ad spend, commanding 71% of the total -- which translates to 24% of all display advertising, according to eMarketer’s December 2014 report
So Facebook is No. 1 by a long mile. But to me this data is highly incomplete and therefore irrelevant.
First of all, teens’ online social behavior goes well beyond the narrow and traditional definition of social media. If I take just my son as an example (he is approaching 14 much faster than I would like), his social media behavior stretches across the traditional platforms mentioned above, but also spans conversations through Skype Messenger, Hangouts, WhatsApp and chat functions within games like Minecraft and Clash of Clans. There are probably others that I am not even aware of, because… you know, kids these days!
Also, the fact that Facebook commands 24% of all display advertising -- and 71% of social media ads -- is data that I can’t do anything with.
As far as I can tell, video is today’s big thing, especially when served through a mobile-optimized platform. In fact, video is served across many different digital media and screens, and almost always offers social media sharing and commenting options. And all media have become social by design -- and even if they do not offer any kind of active social component, they get shared anyway.
This means that advertising via Upworthy, the New York Times or ESPN.COM could be classified as social media advertising -- as much as advertising via Snapchat or ChristianMingle.com, and advertising via any other websites, mobile sites or Apple Watch apps.
What it comes down to, I think, is that current definitions of digital have already outlived their short existence and have become nonsensical rather than useful. I think it's time that the IAB starts working on new and better definitions in recognition of the next big thing, which is of course today’s actual digital environment.
It is crazy for me to think that Facebook still comes in as the number 1 social media tool for teens. For me, I do have a Facebook and I am an active member but I also have a Twitter and an Instagram. I would be curious to know how many of the Facebook users also have a Twitter and Instagram. I agree with the article in that video's are becoming the next big thing. Video allows you to be more creative than a picture and post something that will stand out to your "followers." Especially after the new release of the GoPro Hero 4 I believe the Go Pro is a huge influence on the new video culture. I recently purchased a Go Pro and have found myself making quite a few more videos because it can take a picture and a take a video at the same time. It would be smart for Instagram and Twitter to connect with Go Pro so that you could post from your Go Pro onto the social media.
In today’s world we are surrounded by social media. Everyone wants to join and be apart of the new social media group/site. It is crazy to see that Facebook is still popular among the teenagers. It is crazy, to myself, because outside of Facebook there are many more social media sites that, I would think, are more popular. Over the past few years we have a rise in users in Twitter users, a social media site that keeps you update with your favorite celebrity, as well as keeping touch with your friends and family. Being a college student I feel like we use Twitter and Instagram more than we use Facebook. But, maybe this is because we, other college students and I, have been around Facebook since their big rise in the 2000s. I do not know if it a good thing that these teenagers are using Facebook still, but it goes to show that the youth cannot get enough of social media.
Ay... Senor Albarda... please don't kill yourself! If you are getting your knickers in a knot over THAT... what ARE you doing to do over REAL issues like: viewability standards that count an ad as "seen" after 50% of the pixels are shown 1 second; or the real lack of addressability of broadcast TV followed by audience loses AND increased CPM's... And, by the way, in your short media career, you've never run across 782 radio stations in the same DMA all of which claimed to be #1!? ROFLMAO Marteen, the #1 with teens thing is chickenshit compared to major major disconnects we have today.
Senor Salup: I wholeheartedly agree, like I said here: http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/240136/hi-my-name-is-digital-marketing-and-i-have-a-p.html, and here: http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/231335/why-big-marketing-data-does-not-help-marketing.html, and here: http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/227083/the-five-stages-of-grief-how-marketers-deal-with.html.
Dear Paula,
Ratings are probably dropping because Nielsen can't keep up with variations in viewing behaviors across population groups.
Facebook has nothing to do with the putative rise and fall of TV ratings among Teens.
I have yet to see a single study that shows causation, let alone correlation, between TV usage and Facebook futzing.
Onward & upward!
Sincerely,
Nicholas P. Schiavone