Time to leave Facebook?
Youth might be losing interest in Facebook, with one in five US teens with a profile on Facebook having left the social networking site as of April 2010, according to a study from OTX/Roiworld. And the trend appears to be escalating – 29% of those deserting users had departed within the last month of the research period.
One reason for these lapsed users could be down to the competition.
“There are more and more online options open to teens today, including more niche sites,” explains Lisa Paulson, vp of business development at Roiworld. “These niche sites are less general, and focused on areas of particular interest – fashion, sports, music, [and so on]. Web-savvy teens will find an online environment that focuses on what excites them, regardless of whether the content is on Facebook, or on other websites like Gaia or Roiworld that were both cited in our study as sites of interest.
“Marketers can have more bang for their buck as they reach more captive audiences in more niche-oriented social nets.”
Another reason for the decline is that users are starting to get a little bored. When asked to give their primary motivation for leaving, 45% of lapsed US teen users said ‘boredom’. And 20% mentioned ‘too many ads’ as their chief reason, while 16% scooted ‘because [their] parents joined’.
So just how concerned should marketers be?
“Facebook is still extremely dynamic, and according to the results of this study, seven out of 10 online teens are Facebook users – [that is to say, they] have a profile, and visit Facebook at least once every two weeks,” says Paulson.
And marketers should consider utilizing games to keep visitors interested, since 54% of teens said they visit Facebook mainly to play games. A typical FB gamer spends four hours a week playing social gaming titles.
“What seems to be changing is how teens are using Facebook,” says Paulson. “Facebook has become, for many teens, a platform for gaming content – teens are logging in to play, not to connect. As with any content play, branded or otherwise, engaging content is the recipe for ‘less boring’.”
