Friday, March 5, 2010

Facebook Mobile Now Bigger Than Twitter

Interesting headline I know…However, it’s not intended to be sensationalist, simply a matter of fact and also a topic worthy of discussion.

Facebook announced that active users of its mobile platform surpassed 100 million, each and every month. And, this usage happens on almost every carrier in the world. If interaction and participation serve as the foundation for social media, then Facebook is setting the standard. Facebook is reporting that mobile users are twice more active on Facebook than non-mobile users.

According to estimates, the number of mobile Facebook users far exceeds the total active user base for Twitter, including mobile, Web, and through third-party applications.

This news also represents a concentric ring around another major milestone the company reached earlier this month. On February 4th, the burgeoning social network celebrated its sixth anniversary as well as hosting more than 400 million users.

In a recent statement, Facebook voiced its dedication to mobile platforms…

Facebook’s goal is to enable our users to be able to stay connected and communicate with their friends whenever, wherever they are. To accomplish this we are working with every major operator and mobile device maker to ensure that users are able to access Facebook – through SMS, mobile web sites or an application – from the device of their choice.

To further improve the mobile experience, Facebook redesigned m.facebook.com and touch.facebook.com enabling people to access Facebook from any mobile browser in more than 70 languages.

Text messaging remains significant, with more then 80 operators in 32 countries enabling millions around the world to stay connected via SMS. The Facebook team also introduced FB.ME that makes it even easier for people to share content from their mobile devices.

Of course dedicated applications for Facebook remain paramount as smart phones gain traction within the marketplace. The network recently released updates for the dedicated Facebook applications on Android, Blackberry, iPhone, Nokia and Samsung and it also supports a broadening array of new devices from HTC, INQ, LG Electronics, Palm, Sony Ericsson and Microsoft’s Windows Phone.

Let’s quickly recap…

100 million active mobile users. 400 million total Facebook users. Facebook is truly gaining prominence all over the world.

While Twitter is seemingly stealing the real-time spotlight, Facebook is where brands, whether local, national, or global, should concentrate significant attention, creativity, and engagement. And with 100 million active users interacting with other Facebook contacts from their mobile devices, creating portable brand experiences is now predominant.

Why?

The social graph that each individual user builds within Facebook is unequaled in its design and effect.

The average user on Facebook has over 130 friends, sending eight friend requests per month. Individuals spend more than 55 minutes per day interacting with contacts while also exploring the activities of those defining their social graphs (which is exactly where brand opportunities reside).

More than 35 million users update their status each day with more than 60 million status updates posted daily.

More than 20 million people become fans of Pages each day.

Pages have created more than 5.3 billion fans.

At a time when businesses are rushing to create Facebook Fan Pages and Twitter profiles without necessarily calculating or defining goals, intentions, or targets, the question becomes, how are you optimizing your brand or story for the Facebook and also the Facebook mobile experience…?

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