Facebook Still No. 1 For Teens — But Is It No. 1 Ad Medium?

You’re probably not reading this because you are at SXSW, where you are desperately searching for the next big thing. As Joseph Jaffe, co-author of our book “ZERO,” likes to say: “There is no next big thing. The next big thing is now.” But go ahead, chase after Meerkat or the Apple Watch or whatever the SXSW thing is this year.

In the meantime, Facebook is the truly big thing if you’re after teens. Measurement firm GlobalWebIndex reported the global Top 10 social media networks for 16- to 19-year-olds (excluding China). It is very clear that Facebook is still the social media winner, with 80% of teens having an account, and about 50% of teens reporting “active use” (defined as using at least once a month).

No. 2 is YouTube (just over 75% have an account, and 35% report active usage), followed by Google Plus. I am going to discount that one because it is probably more a reflection of teen usage of other Google products (like Gmail and Hangouts), which are all bundled into these numbers, as far as I know. So the next No. 3 is Twitter, with a little over 60% reporting that they have an account, but only about 25% reporting active usage. Instagram rounds out the Top 5 (40% accounts; 22% active).

As an advertising medium, Facebook is also No. 1 in social media ad spend, commanding 71% of the total — which translates to 24% of all display advertising, according to eMarketer’s December 2014 report.

So Facebook is No. 1 by a long mile. But to me this data is highly incomplete and therefore irrelevant.

First of all, teens’ online social behavior goes well beyond the narrow and traditional definition of social media. If I take just my son as an example (he is approaching 14 much faster than I would like), his social media behavior stretches across the traditional platforms mentioned above, but also spans conversations through Skype Messenger, Hangouts, WhatsApp and chat functions within games like Minecraft and Clash of Clans. There are probably others that I am not even aware of, because… you know, kids these days!

Also, the fact that Facebook commands 24% of all display advertising — and 71% of social media ads — is data that I can’t do anything with.

As far as I can tell, video is today’s big thing, especially when served through a mobile-optimized platform. In fact, video is served across many different digital media and screens, and almost always offers social media sharing and commenting options. And all media have become social by design — and even if they do not offer any kind of active social component, they get shared anyway.

This means that advertising via Upworthy, the New York Times or ESPN.COM could be classified as social media advertising — as much as advertising via Snapchat or ChristianMingle.com, and advertising via any other websites, mobile sites or Apple Watch apps.

What it comes down to, I think, is that current definitions of digital have already outlived their short existence and have become nonsensical rather than useful. I think it’s time that the IAB starts working on new and better definitions in recognition of the next big thing, which is of course today’s actual digital environment.

By Maarten Albarda
Maarten has lived in five countries across three continents and honed his integrated marketing communication skills at JWT, Leo Burnett, McCann-Erickson, The Coca-Cola Company and AB-InBev. He now runs his own integrated marketing consultancy in partnership with Flock Associates, and has written the book “Z.E.R.O.” with Joseph Jaffe.

Courtesy of mediapost