When it comes to social networks, Facebook is the undoubted king of them all. Despite the numerous competitors and “Facebook killers” like Ello and Tsu, it is still the largest and most popular social network with its 1.3 billion users all over the world. When it comes to gathering new users, the (sometimes not so friendly) blue giant is often overtaken by its smaller competitors. According to research published by the Global Web Index (cited by TechCrunch), Tumblr is the winner of the race – its active user base has grown by 120% in the last six months, while the number of Facebook users has only grown by 2%.
When it comes to mobile, Facebook has the lead – it has the largest mobile app today, followed by Snapchat, which has overtaken the blue giant when it comes to growth, surging by 56% in 2014, closely followed by Facebook Messenger, the app crammed down the throats of Facebook users after the questionable decision of Zuckerberg’s company to transform it into a completely separate app. Instagram is following close, showing that Facebook’s largest growth platform is mobile.
Although Facebook is – and will probably remain – the largest social network of the world, the frequency of its use is declining, according to a post on the same Global Web Index. Out of the 12,500 Facebook members surveyed by the company in the US and the UK, approximately 50% say that they are using the social network less than they used to. This reduction of the time spent on the social network is most obvious in case of the younger users, especially in case of teens between the age of 15 and 19. Make no mistake – teens are not leaving the social network, they are just interacting less with it. The numbers show that Facebook has issues with maintaining the enthusiasm of the most desired user category – teens – when it comes to advertising. As the numbers above show, a good part of this audience seems to seek out new options – like Snapchat, for example.