Recent reports about an apparent “Facebook exodus” – claiming millions are ditching the social network site – have been called into question with the release of new figures showing the site attracted a record 28.6 million Brits last month.
But there is a major shift in audience profile, with an influx of over 50s redrawing the social media marketing map. Facebook is no longer simply the domain of the young, with the new entrants making it much more representative of the population as a whole.
According to official data from UKOM/Nielsen, the UK’s industry-approved online measurement body, the three most-popular social networking sites in the UK – Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn – each enjoyed record unique-audience figures in May.
The rise in Facebook visitors was enough to propel it for the first time above the collective web-brand of MSN/WindowsLive/Bing, making it the UK’s second most-popular site, behind Google.
At the centre of the Ryan Giggs super-injunction debate, Twitter also enjoyed its highest-ever UK audience last month, with 6.14 million Brits visiting the site from home and work computers in May – up 34% on April. The monthly audience rise was helped by a 65% increase in the number of men aged 50-64 and a doubling (96% rise) in the number of women over-65 visiting the site.
The business network LinkedIn continued its steady ascent, registering 3.59 million UK visitors in May 2011, up 57% on the same month last year.
UKOM general manager James Smythe said: “The growth in audiences to these social networks is now primarily being driven by the 50-plus age group. Just a few years ago, this group may have found itself out of place on these sites; now, on Facebook, for example, they account for more new adults visiting the site in the last two years than the under-50s.”
Two years ago, in the UK, the profile of Facebook’s audience was noticeably skewed towards 18-34 year olds. This is no longer the case. While Facebook’s unique UK audience has risen 41% since May 2009, the increase in the number of 50-64 year-olds visiting the site has easily outstripped this, growing by 84%. And it is not just baby-boomers visiting the site; the number of over-65s has increased across the same period by 81%. The age profile of visitors to Facebook now much more closely reflects the age profile of the UK online population as a whole.
The story is similar for Twitter – older age-groups are becoming more likely to visit the site. But unlike Facebook, the under-18s are less likely to visit Twitter than two years ago.
The growing number of over-50s visiting social networks is presenting brands with new opportunities. Nielsen senior director Stephanie Hayden explains: “It’s becoming more commonplace for the over-50s to discuss topics online with people they do and don’t know. For some brands, this can open up a new marketing channel.
“Brands should first gain a deeper understanding of how and why their older consumers are using social networks. Depending on the evaluation, they may benefit from creating a new Facebook page or Twitter account. It can even be appropriate for brands to go further, giving opportunities for older consumers with more life-experience to facilitate conversations, offer expert advice, or provide a place where people can share experiences, ask questions, and help each other.”
She continued: “In addition, for all brands, the growing number of silver surfers on social networks, means these sites – as a consumer-insight tool – are becoming more and more representative of the total market. Consumers of all ages are online right now having millions of conversations about brands, categories, but more importantly, the key topics that matter to them. All companies should be making the effort to listen to consumers online in order to stay relevant to them and to fuel new directions for their brand.”
While the number of UK visitors to the three-biggest social networks continues to rise, the amount of time these audiences are spending on these sites is more mixed. The average visitor to Facebook and LinkedIn is spending a little longer on those sites each month than they were two years ago, while the average visitor to Twitter appears to be spending a little less.
