Facebook is a popular social media platform. Daily, 1.88 billion people use Facebook to keep in touch with friends and connect with their communities. In fact, Facebook is the third-most-popular website on the internet. Facebook is a phenomenal way for businesses to make real connections with customers with its huge reach.
Who uses Facebook?
The answer: many people! Among American adults, 69% have a Facebook account. About half of those users visit the site multiple times per day. Furthermore, Facebook reaches more than 80% of American households at every income level. However, Facebook is not just an American phenomenon; 90% of Facebook traffic comes from outside the United States and Canada. India, Indonesia, and Brazil all have over 100 million Facebook users.
As for demographics, the majority of Facebook users are men (56%). The largest portion of the userbase (31.6%) is between the ages of 25 and 34. A further 22.7% of users are between the ages of 18 and 24.
| Age Group | Female | Male |
| 13-17 | 2.5% | 3.2% |
| 18-24 | 9.3% | 13.4% |
| 25-34 | 12.5% | 19.0% |
| 35-44 | 7.7% | 10.0% |
| 45-54 | 5.1% | 5.6% |
| 55-64 | 3.4% | 3.2% |
| 65+ | 2.7% | 2.5% |
| Data from Statista |
What is Facebook used for?
Facebook is useful for engaging with an audience. That audience can be friends, family, or potential customers. Users create engagement by producing and sharing content. This content includes photos, text posts, and events. Newer forms of content include Facebook Lives and Stories. Lives allow users to share live, streaming footage on the platform. Stories are short videos that are visible for 24 hours before they disappear. These different types of content can be used to build a brand for a person or a business.
How can Facebook be used to market a business?
Facebook has plenty of potential as an ad platform. Businesses can create public Pages on Facebook as a part of their online presence. Pages are free and can host business information just like a website. Pages also allow businesses to interact with customers on Facebook via posts, messages, Lives, Stories, and events. Users can “Like” a Page to get updates from the business on their newsfeed. Two out of three Facebook users visit a local business Page once per week or more. So, Pages can be a powerful way to reach both new and existing customers.
Additionally, Facebook allows businesses to buy ads on the platform. Facebook ads come with sophisticated targeting. Businesses can use targeted ads to market to specific groups of potential customers based on their profiles. Through custom audience selection, businesses can target advertising toward people who are already interested in the business. Or, businesses can learn who is interested in their products, and select a new ad audience that is similar to their pre-existing customer base. Facebook also tracks ad metrics to help businesses determine whether ad campaigns are successful. These tools can help businesses develop targeted ad campaigns that get results.