Facebook is a commanding force with 1.86 billion monthly active users worldwide behind it. Whether you passively scroll through your News Feed for trending items, or you’re sharing links to reach other users that are also logged on, Facebook holds great influence over what the whole world sees and reads.

That’s why businesses continue to invest in Facebook as a marketing channel. However, creating a strategy that effectively uses content and video to ultimately reach target customers requires a bit of data and insight. Here are 8 Facebook statistics to help guide you.

Facebook has great audience reach potential.

1. Facebook’s monthly active users exceed 1 billion and everybody’s connected to one another by an average of 3.57 degrees of separation. (Source)

2. Half of all adult Facebook users have more than 200 friends in their network. (Source)

What does this mean?

Based on the sheer volume of active users alone, Facebook’s presence is undeniable and unlikely to diminish any time soon. With 3.57 degrees of separation, it’s also easy to see how a Facebook post can reach hundreds and thousands of connected users with similar interests.

When creating videos or images, keep in mind that the combination of post engagement and sharing can bring your content to audiences that don’t know who your business is. Don’t forget to include links to your website or Facebook page inside of the video as well as in the post description.

Good timing is crucial for optimal results.

3. 75% of a Facebook post’s potential engagement occurs within the first five hours. (Source)

4. It only takes 2 hours, 30 minutes for a post to get 75% of the total impressions it will get. (Source)

What does this mean?
Although reach and engagement alone are not an ideal measure of video success, they are generally directly related to success. If Facebook is one of your main channels, you have an idea of how little time you have to capture engagement and create momentum after publishing a post. One effective strategy is establishing a posting frequency (this could be 3-4 per day or even per week depending on your audience) in order to stay visible.

This way, you can also work towards optimizing your posting frequency and content. Take note of any behavioral trends using Facebook Insights; is there a type of post that really resonated with your audience? Use what you learn to inform future video marketing topics.

Many people seek customer service from brands on Facebook.

5. 44% of Facebook users follow brand pages. (Source)

6. 42 percent of customer service responses from brands on Facebook happen within the first 60 minutes. (Source)

What does this mean for your business?

While people are not as likely to follow brands on Facebook as they are on Instagram (50% of Instagram users follow brands on the platform), many do use Facebook to contact a business for support or other questions. This type of interaction can provide insights into issues that you can use to create helpful content, such as a FAQ video series.

If people are seeking customer support, they are already interested in what your business is offering. How can you take advantage of this? When responding to comments and messages, make sure to include a relevant CTA that encourages people to take action.

Video content is now essential to the Facebook experience.

7. Facebook video posts have increased by 94% annually in the U.S. (Source)

8. Because Facebook videos autoplay without sound, captioned video ads can increase video view time by an average of 12%. (Source via Hootsuite)

What does this mean for your business?

As the demand and consumption of Facebook video continues to go, Facebook will continue to innovate for the medium. Facebook Live videos is one example of how the platform is providing brands and marketers with the tools to publish their own content.

In order to the maximize impact of your Facebook video strategy, experiment with video topics instead of stopping at one video. A big reason that video is so popular is that it quickly tells a story in a much more colorful and dynamic way than text can. Regularly posting videos will keep your business ahead of the competition.

 

Do you use Facebook video for reaching new customers? Share your experience in the comments below!