Facebook is the third most trafficked site globally, with 1.930 billion daily active users based on data gathered on the site as of October 2021. With the recent transitioning and rebranding to Metaverse, there are definitely changes to be expected.
Here, we’ve gathered 22 stats and facts to help you stay tuned on current events on the world’s largest social media platform. We understand that Facebook is home to many marketing and networking activities. With these stats, we hope that you can create better, more targeted, and optimized campaigns and drive more engagement on the platform this year.
General Facts
1. As of 2021, Facebook was the 3rd most downloaded app
Globally, Facebook has the third-highest number of downloads in 2021. TikTok came first with 656 million downloads, Instagram followed with 545 million downloads, and Facebook was downloaded 416 times. Following it is another Facebook app, WhatsApp, with 395 million downloads.
2. Over a billion Stories are posted every day on Facebook
In case you didn’t already know, stories are short-lived user-generated videos and photos posted on social media. The Facebook stories recorded include those from Instagram Stories, WhatsApp Status, and Facebook Stories.
3. The Facebook company is now Meta
While we await the full roll-out of the upgrades and new features that come with this transition, it was probably the most significant news about Facebook last year. In late October 2021, CEO Mark Zuckerberg introduced Meta as the parent company for Facebook, Instagram, and Whatsapp. Meta brings together all Facebook apps and technologies under one company brand.
4. Facebook is the 6th most valuable company in the world
On the list of 100 largest publicly-traded companies in the world, Facebook was ranked 6th in 2021 with a market capitalization of 632.4 billion euros.
5. The most used reaction emoji on Facebook posts is “Love.”
The Facebook love reaction emoji accounted for about half of all the emojis used on Facebook. Apparently, users connect more with posts that strike an emotional appeal, hence the lavish use of the “love” emoji.
6. 500 million people watch videos on Facebook every day
According to Facebook for Media and Biteable, up to 500 million users watch videos on Facebook every single day. Marketers who know how to target the right users can use this stat for many good.
Facebook user statistics
7. Did you know that over 56% of Facebook’s audience is male?
Facebook gender reporting is limited to males and females, and about 43% of that number as of 2021 was female, unlike Instagram, which is almost equally split between men and women.
8. Facebook records an average of 2.9 billion monthly active users
As of last year, Facebook was the most popular social media platform in the world by the number of monthly active users. Today, it is still the most used social media platform. Coming very close to this number is YouTube. YouTube comes in second place with around 2.3 billion monthly active users.
9. Facebook is most used among 25 to 34-year-olds
The people who use Facebook the most are young people aged between 18 to 24 years. This is actually the second-largest age group on Facebook, translating to 23.2% of total users on the platform base. Next to this category is 35 to 44-year-olds, 45 to 54-year-olds, 55 to 64-year-olds, 13 to 17-year-olds, and people aged 65.
10. India has the highest number of Facebook users
340 million people currently use Facebook, making India the country with the most Facebook users. Coming next to India is the United States, with 200 million Facebook users, which is a far cry from India.
11. More people prefer to contact a company via Facebook than call
64% of people using Facebook prefer to use Facebook messaging than a phone call to reach out to a company. This is interesting because companies with optimized profiles stand a chance to improve their lead generation on Facebook.
Stats for marketers and businesses
12. 93% of marketers worldwide use Facebook
Reports from a global survey of social media marketers show that 93% of marketers use Facebook as a marketing channel, making it the most popular social platform for marketing, followed by Instagram.
13. Facebook’s ads reach an audience of 2.14 billion
This means that the totality of Facebook’s advertising reaches over a quarter of the world’s total population.
14. 78% of US consumers use Facebook for product discovery
Kleiner Parkins showed that Facebook isn’t just a place to connect with friends and have fun. Actually, most people in the US use Facebook when looking for new products to buy. This means that Facebook is the top product discovery platform for Americans.
15. 48.5% of decision-makers use Facebook for B2B research
While LinkedIn and YouTube are more popular for B2B research (50.9%). If you’re in charge of social media marketing for a B2B company, Facebook can be a great way to get your message out to your target audience.
16. Only 8.9% of Facebook’s audience is in the U.S.
It sounds funny. The majority of Americans use Facebook, but only 8.9% of Facebook users are Americans. Stats as of 2020 show that about 1.9 million users are in the United States, but the vast majority of Facebook’s audience lives outside of the United States.
17. The best time to post on Facebook is around 9 AM
Based on different experimentations, 9 AM is typically when most people settle down at their desks to start work and go online. It’s been shown to be the prime time when clickthrough rates are highest. Other best times are 11-12 PM when people go for lunch breaks and 3-4 PM when they get off work. Weekends are also great, especially for those looking to catch up with friends and family.
18. The Middle East and Africa (13.6%) are the fastest-growing regions for Facebook
This means that the Middle East and Africa have the largest growing Facebook users. This is an indication for marketers to target more audiences from Asia and Africa. According to statistics, Facebook is gradually losing users in Germany, Japan, Switzerland, and South Korea.
Facebook Messenger statistics
19. Approximately 1.3 billion people use Facebook Messenger
While Facebook is the most popular social network today, it doesn’t have as many users as WhatsApp, which has an average of 2 billion monthly active users.
20. Over 100 billion messages are shared every day on messenger
According to Facebook’s About Page, over 100 billion messages are shared every day on messenger. Still, for lack of accurate data, this figure seems to be the combined total of messages sent through Messenger, WhatsApp, and probably Instagram - both of which are owned by Facebook.
21. Messenger facilitates 150 million video calls every day
According to Facebook Messenger news, the platform hosts up to 150 million video calls every day, meaning that Facebook Messenger is not only for text messages.
22. Facebook Messenger recorded a revenue increase of 270% in 2020
Since its inception, Facebook Messenger has recorded continuous revenue growth, and it is predicted that the turnover of the app will continue to increase year on year. As of 2020, Statista reported that it saw a revenue increase from $4 million in 2019 to $14.78 million.
Final thoughts
Interesting, right? That’s 22 of Facebook's hottest stats and facts as of 2022. The good news is that there are many opportunities for growth if you’re looking at leveraging Facebook to grow your marketing in 2022.
Need further guidance on how to grow your business using internet marketing platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Google? Check out our ebook, Internet Marketing in 2022: Strategies for Automation, Advertising, & Social Media, or reach out to us at Mission today.