This afternoon I decided to talk to a few youngsters about Facebook. What I really wanted to find out was why they use it. A large part of my day is spent talking to the youth. In order for my company to help companies to engage the youth successfully, I need to stay up-to-date with the trends, even though I am a youngster myself.
It was really fun to hear some of the responses to questions that I asked. I also asked a few of my followers on Twitter if they had any questions. Here are some of the findings from the conversation:
- Used To Keep In Touch
The most popular and obvious reason was to keep in touch with old friends or friends and family who are overseas. Facebook allows people to send public and private messages to other people. It also allows people to share photos and videos with friends and family. - They Ignore The Ads
Almost everyone I spoke to said that they ignored the ads on Facebook. The youth are very good at blocking out interruptive messages and therefore are blind to banners. In order for brands to gain the youth’s attention attention they need to start engaging them and build relationships with them. - They Do Make New Friends
Once again most of the people said they knew they majority of the their friends, in real life, on Facebook, the few being new friends they have made online. I think Facebook is wonderful in this way because it allows us to overcome geographical boundaries to make new friends. - Facebook Mobile Is Important
Facebook has a mobile version. Everyone I asked agreed that it allowed them to stay even more connected as they weren’t always near a PC with an internet connection. I think the mobile version plays a huge role in user retention as it allows users to login to Facebook from almost anywhere and access the main features of Facebook. - What Is Facebook?
I asked a few people to explain Facebook to me in one sentence.
“Social networking thingy?”
“Facebook is a brilliant program to keep you in touch with friends and family all over the world!”
“A more creative version of MXit?”
Facebook is rapidly approaching the 400 000 user mark and shows no signs of stopping. Below is a graph, provided by Compete, that shows how Facebook users are interacting inside of Facebook.
Tags: Facebook, Social Media, social networking
Very insightful. It would be interesting to get the views of the older generation as well. I doubt it would be much different though. My Facebook usage is very similar, although I my networking is mostly business oriented.
Then, and I know I harp on this, but I believe Facebook would achieve much greater engagement, especially from the older generation if they come to grips in terms of their group policies.
It’s highly annoying and defeats the purpose of groups when notifications aren’t able to be sent. I believe my greatest learning will come from groups if the activity could be submitted to and via e-mail.