Facebook is the world’s most popular social network. So businesses should pay constant attention to the platform and its changing features. This year, the social media giant saw many updates that could impact small business users.
2018 Facebook Trends
Here are the statistics and headlines that you should be aware of.
Facebook Popularity
- Facebook has more than 2.2 billion active members around the world.
- More than 1.6 billion people around the world have used Facebook to connect with a small business.
- More than 80 million businesses use Facebook to connect with customers.
- But it’s not all about growth. 42 percent of U.S. adults have taken a break from Facebook for a few weeks or more.
- 44 percent of younger users have deleted the Facebook app from their phones in the past year.
- But only 12 percent of older users have done so.
Facebook Features
- At least one million people use Facebook Groups to connect with each other and engage with brands or other users.
- Facebook Stories and Messenger Stories have about 300 million daily users each.
- 63 percent plan on using Facebook stories even more going forward.
- Advertising on Facebook is constantly changing as well. In fact, you can now buy ads within Facebook Marketplace.
- The Level Up program is meant to help gamers get discovered. Some popular gamers even earn $500,000 a month on the platform.
Facebook Video Trends
- 47 percent of online video viewers said they watch video content most often on Facebook.
- 16 percent watch at least ten videos per day.
- 28 percent watch five to ten videos daily.
- 32 percent watch two to five videos daily.
- 24 percent watch zero to two videos daily.
- 71 percent of consumers on Facebook said the ads they seen on the platform are relevant.
- Over last Thanksgiving weekend, Facebook videos related to Black Friday received more than 450 million views.
- The Facebook Video Creation Kit launched earlier this year to help page owners turn photos and text into videos that are optimized for the platform.
- Facebook Watch Party was introduced earlier this year to make videos a more social experience.
Facebook Messenger Trends
- Facebook Messenger chatbots receive about 80 percent better engagement than other channels like email.
- Paid Facebook Messenger chatbot ads deliver about 50 times the ROI of other paid content.
- The average open rate for messages on Facebook Messenger is between 50 and 80 percent.
- Additionally, the average click rate is 20 percent.
- And it’s a fairly underutilized tactic; less than 1 percent of businesses use Facebook Messenger automation.
- Facebook Messenger also allows you to send recurring messages to people. There are just a few specific steps you need to take in order to qualify for this type of content.
Facebook Security Trends
- Earlier this year, Facebook discovered a massive security breach that saw about 50 million accounts compromised.
- 54 percent of Facebook users have adjusted their Facebook privacy settings in the past year.
- To make business pages more secure, Facebook introduced a new verification feature this summer.
- Facebook is also in talks to buy a cybersecurity company, which could lead to even more innovation on this front.
Additional Resources
As you can see, Facebook is constantly changing. With all of the updates and headlines from the past year, you can get a feel for where the platform is heading and how you can best utilize it for your small business. Here are some additional articles from the past year that might be of interest for small business users.
- How to Maintain a Facebook Page for Your Small Business
- 10 Facebook Ad Best Practices for Small Businesses
- Facebook Says Updates Allow Customers to Interact with More Small Businesses
- You Can Now Buy Ads in Facebook Marketplace
- 46 Small Business Facebook Pages to Follow
Photo via Shutterstock
This article, “Top 30 2018 Facebook Trends for Small Business” was first published on Small Business Trends