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Nowadays, the majority of teens use YouTube and Instagram, instead of Facebook. And, websites are now attracting more traffic from Google – organic search – than from Facebook. Statistics aren’t looking that good for Facebook. Is Facebook getting less important for companies, blogs, and websites? And what should you do about it? In this post, I’ll bring you up to speed on all the latest Facebook trends and help you to figure out how to act on it.
What do the stats say?
Facebook and teenagers
According to the statistics of Pew Research, teenagers use YouTube, Instagram, and Snapchat, while only half of the U.S. teens have a Facebook account. And only 10 percent of the teenagers say that Facebook is the social medium that they use most often. This in contrast to three years ago, when Facebook was the dominant social media for U.S. teenagers. Social media use of teenagers has changed rapidly, and not in favor of Facebook.
How quickly life comes full circle. I remember being a teenager many years ago and not understanding how my parents didn’t appreciate the trends of that era. When it came to music, apparel, and pop culture we couldn’t be further apart. Now, as a father of a 12 year old, I find myself on the other side of spectrum. Clinging to what was relevant in my younger days. That includes Facebook.
Don’t get me wrong, Facebook is still a juggernaut. However, the youtube phenomenon is real. Teens are obsessed with it. I’ve observed it first hand. When they’d rather watch random videos than scripted tv shows, you begin to understand just how much of a resurgence it is having. Founded in 2005, youtube has been a popular medium for quite some time. Although, I never expected it would have the staying power that it does. Nor did I think it would resonate so much with today’s youth. I figured eventually it would fade into obscurity in favor of the next big thing. Much like Myspace did.
So is Facebook in danger of losing its grip as a dominant social media platform? Possibly, but there is plenty of time for Zuckerburg and company to adapt and reclaim that younger demographic. From a business perspective, it is still essential that you have a Facebook page if you want to be taken seriously and reach a large audience. However, if your target audience is mainly on the younger side it would be wise to start looking into creating videos promoting your business.