Facebook holds onto relevancy for youth
While teenagers insist just about any social media site is cooler than Facebook, these consumers still use the latter most and savvy marketers continue to boost their youth strategies with it, according to a new report from Forrester.
Just 65 percent of online users in the United States 12 to 17 think Facebook is cool, putting it in seventh place, according to Forrester. However, 78 percent of young people use Facebook, with the site generating greater intensity of use than any other social media offering.
"Marketers seem to think teens are fleeing Facebook,” said Gina Fleming, an analyst with Forrester and co-author of the report. "The reality is that this couldn’t be further from the truth.”
Finding the right strategy
The key to an effective Facebook strategy is choosing the right strategy, according to the report.
Savvy marketers such as Procter & Gamble and Gatorade recognize the importance of leveraging Facebook to engage American youth.
To target a broad audience of teens and drive awareness of new products or promotions, use either word of mouth or paid ads on Facebook, recommends Forrester.
For example, P&G’s Always brand saw its top of mind brand awareness increase 9 percent and its purchase intent among teens grow from 40 percent to 60 percent when it used the #LikeAGirl Facebook and Twitter hashtag to promote positive gender images.
Building lifetime value
To build loyalty drive lifetime value with teen customers, use organic posts to show how to best use products.
For example, Gatorade saw 186,000 teens engage on Facebook when it asked fans to create superhero characters in their own likeness. Those users nearly quadrupled their time spent with the brand.
It is true that teenagers do not think Facebook is cool.
Forrester surveyed of American youth, with 80 percent naming YouTube as the coolest social media tool, followed by Snapchat at 79 percent, Instagram 78 percent, Vine 72 percent, Twitter 69 percent and WhatsApp 67 percent.
Facebook came in seventh place at 65 percent, followed only by Tumblr at 62 percent, Pinterest at 58 percent and Google+ at 55 percent.
Impassioned users
Despite its lack of coolness, Facebook is used by 78 percent of teens, the same number as in 2014, and more than any social site with the exception of YouTube.
In comparison, only about half of this audience uses Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat.
Facebook also generates more impassioned users, with 60 percent saying Facebook is the site they use the most, up from 57 percent last year.
Additionally, while the percentage of young Instagram, Twitter and Vine users who say they use these tools all the time has fallen since 2015, one-third of Facebook users say they are on the site all the time, more than any other site.
Facebook is also viewed by these users as an important way to keep in touch with friends, coming in third place at 66 percent, behind Snapchat at 74 percent and Instagram at 70 percent.
Sure, young people don’t think Facebook is very cool — but that doesn’t mean they’ve stopped using it,” Ms. Fleming said.
Final Take
Chantal Tode is senior editor on Mobile Marketer, New York