Last chance to save on Digiday Publishing Summit passes is February 9
There’s a narrative that’s taken place that takes as accepted fact that Facebook’s once ironclad grip on the fickle teen market has slipped, as evidenced by the surge of other apps like Instagram and Whatsapp, which Facebook paid a combined $20 billion to acquire.
It’s undeniable Instagram and Whatsapp, among others like Snapchat, which Facebook also reportedly offered to buy, are surging. But it turns out Facebook’s core service is doing just fine with teens. New data from Forrester bears this out, showing that Facebook is still the default social network with teenagers.
The researcher found that three quarters of teens said they used Facebook monthly, over twice that of Pinterest, Tumblr and Snapchat. Facebook use is more than Instagram and Whatsapp combined, according to Forrester.
Forrester surveyed over 4,500 teens for the survey.
The data is a bit of an about face to the marketer view of Facebook. After all, it was only in October that Facebook CFO David Ebersman admitted teens were using the service less frequently.
“The bottom line: The sky is not falling,” Forrester analyst Nate Elliott, who has been critical of Facebook in the past, wrote in a blog post. “Facebook does not have a problem attracting or retaining teen users.”
More in Marketing
Digiday staffers tackle the creator vs. influencer divide
Creator vs. influencer: Digiday staffers debate the difference, and why it matters to marketers on this episode of the Digiday Podcast.
As ChatGPT’s growth slows, ads look like the next risky move
While launching an ad business might be good for the AI platform’s bottom line, it could cause some users to jump ship as a result.
Behind Pacsun’s strategy for keeping a pulse on the changing tastes of Gen Z
Over the last four months, Pacsun has developed tools and tweaked campaigns based on feedback from teenagers and twenty-somethings.