Toward the end of last year, I stopped using Facebook for my book Ads. Whereas a few years ago I was enjoying a healthy Return on Investment (ROI), generating around 80c of profit on each advertising dollar I spent, that amount had steadily been decreasing over the years until I was barely breaking even. So, I finally gave up on it, preferring instead to advertise on Bookbub and Amazon, both of which let me enjoy a much better ROI: I spend around $120-150 each month and make between $300-$450.
So, has Facebook become irrelevant? Many of you have mentioned in the past that you no longer use the medium. Is this part of a general trend?
69 Facebook Statistics for 2019
A few days ago, I came across an Infographic on 99firms.com. This infographic sheds some light on the company’s daily activities. It breaks down its audience by a number of useful metrics, and includes a number of jaw-slacking statistics:
- More than 270 million profiles on Facebook are fake.
- 64% of adults aged between 50 and 64 use Facebook.
- 83% of women and 75% of men use Facebook.
- Facebook Lite has 200 million users worldwide.
- Instagram is responsible for 20% of Facebook’s mobile ad revenue.
- Facebook’s net income was estimated at $5.1 billion as of Q2, 2018.
- The number of monthly active users (MAUs) was 2.23 billion as of June 2018.
- For 67% of marketers, Facebook is the most important social platform.
- Facebook ad spend increases between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
- More than 80 million businesses have Facebook pages.
So, no. It looks like Facebook is here to stay. And with Facebook planning its own currency–the Libra, it looks like it’s looking to become the Paypal of the future, as well as its Google.
Everyone and then, I’ll experiment a little to see how Ads perform there. And if I find out something of interest, you’ll be the first to know!
Note: if you can’t view the image, click on it. When it opens in a new tab, click on it once more to enlarge it. Alternatively, view it on the 99firms website.
Reblogged this on Kim's Musings.
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The only reason I’m on Facebook these days is to keep up with friends and family who don’t live nearby I’m active in a couple of special interest groups. While I still have an author page I don’t do anything with it except have my blog posts feed there. I will not spend money to advertise with them.
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I can understand that. Unfortunately,that means Facebook won’t show your posts to pretty much anyone unless they specifically view your timeline.
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I’ve started to turn more to other forms of social media instead. I seem to get more leverage there.
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It’s disheartening to see that 270 million profiles are fake. Are there that many disingenuous people out there?
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Don’t forget bots, “black-hat” marketers etc.
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I have never been on Facebook, and never will. I have seen it literally consume my wife, (and other people) to the extent that she cannot live without it.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Oh, right! That’s interesting. Electra’s been pretty active on FB, too. Of course, she uses my profile to log in, so people don’t realize it 😉
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Reblogged this on Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog.
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Can’t help wondering what time zone the ‘best times’ are based on. Even just the US has 4 of them!
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That’s a good question, actually! Time zones give me such a hard time 😀
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Yeah, me too. I live in Australia and never know when it’s the best time to post. Can’t get it right. well, i have to post, when i am on the computer and not writing on my Talon books. so, i never think on the “best” times. I try hard.
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That’s why I schedule my WP posts to go live at 10 am and 4 pm (Greek time, GMT+2). That way, I can reach more people.
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Never felt facebook much of a sales site for anything intellectual like reading books. Most news media posted there is editorialized news for specific agenda of the source and not pure news. Fun to touch base with relatives and friends but rest just trash.
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I know what you mean, although I’m not that dismissive of it myself. I subscribe to comics and funnies pages mostly, and it’s great for a chuckle 🙂
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I’ve cut my FB usage way back. I’d get rid of it altogether, but I keep in touch with family and friends there. Thanks for sharing.
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I did that for a while, then realized it’s great for a quick chuckle when I need one. The secret is in subscribing to the right kind of pages. It’s funnies and SF ones for me, mostly 🙂
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What an interesting FB post, Nicholas! Mind boggling stats! I don’t use FB often, only to connect with friends and family. But, we’re on Instagram too. And I view LinkedIn and have had some viewing activity there. Not sure how I will advertise the book when it’s ready. You have given us great posts in the past on the publishing topic. I’ll look for those! 📚🎶 Christine
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Thank you so much, Christine! Be sure to check my Marketing page; it’s where I keep my must-read marketing posts and tips. Also, be sure to let me know so I can announce it here 🙂
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Awesome, Nicholas! Thank you! The manuscript is at the editors now. I’ll definitely let you know when it’s publishing time. 📚🎶Christine
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Excellent stats. Well researched post. Worthwhile reading. 👌
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Thank you so much, Sumita 🙂
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wow, there were some things I did not know. Why is FB taking out its own currency? This disturbs me a lot, far more than any other statistic you’ve shown us. However, I do like the fact you are earning a good return on the Amazon Book Bub adds.
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Earning a return is such a beautiful thing 😀
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I’m one of the few who enjoy FB. I get a fairly good return by posting FREE promos within the book groups and use my author page for writing related topics. I’m also a member of three different author groups and FB is where we do our main business.
On a personal note, I’d never hear from half of my family and friends if not for FB. I consider it a valuable form of communication.
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Thanks for sharing that, Jacquie! It’s nice to hear from someone who’s happy with it 🙂
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Each social media platform isn’t for everyone. I’m not sure that it makes sense to try and be active on all of them. I think the best thing for all of us is to determine what we feel the most comfortable with and which gives us the most bang for our buck. Facebook has it’s place, and I’m still a fan. Twitter and Instagram—not so much.
I tend to be a math guy, so I appreciate all of the graphs, charts, and helpful information. Thank you, Nicholas.
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I’m so glad you’re enjoying the info here, Pete! And you’re absolutely right: when it comes to social media, find what works for you and stick to it!
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I left Facebook this year and have concentrated my efforts on a newish site, called MeWe. It is a simple straight forward platform that doesn’t outlaw posts. There are no bells and whistles but we’ve been able to set up groups and can share our posts. I think you are onto something with BookBub. They are a powerhouse. I share my reviews there now. ❤
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Thanks for that, Colleen! I should feature MeWe sometime but haven’t had a chance to explore it yet.
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There are no ads which I do enjoy. It’s literally a place to connect with other authors.
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Oh, is it just for authors?
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Oh, no. But, our community has migrated there from Facebook. ☺️
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In everything I read about marketing, I’m told I must have a FB page. So I duly started one. But we’re told not to post too many ‘buy my book’ posts, but use it to make contacts. So I’ve got contacts, but no sales. I’ve never used FB adds, though.
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Lol–you sound like me, actually 😀
We’re doing two things wrong: first of all, without any “Boost Post” ads, no one sees what you post. And second, you have to pepper your posts with promotional material. Some even suggest adding a promo one for every three posts you upload.
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Wow, Nicholas! This is such great information. The numbers are staggering. I will be interested to see the result of your foray back into FB!
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Nowadays, I only use it to connect with people and have fun, to be honest. I do my marketing on Bookbub and Amazon Ads.
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I’m getting wary of facebook. In the last few days I’m suddenly getting LOTS of people wanting to ‘friend’ me on Fb – people who – it claims – share one or two of my friends.some of these seem very unlikely and one, when I accepted, turned out to not exist. Another is apparently under investigation. I suspect some sneaky algorith is at work.
You can’t sell books to algorithms.
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No, you can’t sell books to algorithms. And it turns out there’s a whole lot more bots out there than I thought!
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