Social networking sites are among the most frequently visited websites on the Internet. The traffic stampede to sites like MySpace, Facebook, Bebo, and YouTube continues to grow, now reaching the vast majority of Internet users of all ages and backgrounds.
The numbers are compelling, as these statistics indicate:
In January 2008, MySpace had 68.6 million unique visitors worldwide; Facebook had 33.9 million.[1]
Facebook visitors increased 51 percent between December 2006 and December 2007.[2]
Sixty-eight percent of the MySpace user base is older than 25, as is 71 percent of the Friendster user base. MySpace’s largest audience segment is between 35 and 54, comprising 40 percent of total users.[3]
Mobile social networking is predicted to rise from 50 million to 174 million users by 2011.[4]
In December 2007, YouTube had 77.6 million viewers who watched 3.2 billion videos.[5]
Worldwide online social network ad spending is predicted to increase from $1.2 billion in 2007 to $2.2 billion in 2008.[6]
Niche sites are growing, too. Although their niche status doesn’t enable them to deliver the sheer volume of traffic that the general sites do, their growth percentages are equally impressive. Some examples include
CafeMom, a niche social networking for mothers, increased its market share 507 percent from January to June 2007.[7]
BlackPlanet was the fourth most popular social networking site in the U.S. in December 2007.[8]
LinkedIn states that its site includes profiles of more than 19 million professionals, with 25 new members joining every minute of every day.
According to Facebook, 85 percent of all college students have a profile on its site.
Social networking isn’t just a U.S.-based phenomenon. During the past few years, social networking has become increasingly global. A number of sites—such as Bebo, XING, and Friendster—cite a high percentage of users outside the U.S. Global social networking statistics illustrate an equally impressive increase in both total users and percentage of market share:
UK—. As of August 2007, participation in social networking usage reached 24.9 million unique visitors—78 percent of the total UK online population.[9]
Australia—. Traffic to social networking and chat websites increased by 114 percent between July and October 2007.[10]
Germany—. The social networking community has reached 14.8 million users.[11]
Latin America—. In June 2007, more than 14 million people in Latin America visited Fox Interactive Media (home of MySpace), representing 26 percent of the online population. Argentina, Brazil, and Chile report the highest percentage of their population with online access.[12]
France—. More than 50 percent of France’s online population participates in social networking. As of September 2007, Skyrock Network was the most popular social networking site, followed by MySpace.[13]
Asia—. Friendster is the top social network in the Asia Pacific region with 41 million users.[14]
Traffic statistics don’t tell the whole story, however. Audience demographics also play a key role. In addition, you need to stay on top of trends to predict growth areas in the rapidly changing world of social networking. Mobile social networking (such as via cell phone) and microniches are on a growth trend, for example, and could change future traffic patterns. MySpace, Facebook, Yahoo!, and Google are focusing on the wireless future of social networking. What’s critical is to determine what these numbers and statistics mean in relation to your social networking goals.
For example, MySpace may be the most-visited social networking site in the world, but if your goal is to develop a network of high-level business contacts to help you land a top-notch position in corporate management, you’re much better off spending your time on LinkedIn or Ryze. On the other hand, if your goal is to promote a CD or a product with mass general appeal, a MySpace presence could be very profitable. If you want to reach the niche demographic of dog owners, a site like Dogster is the place to be.
The key is to research the statistics and the audience demographics and then determine the best target social networking sites for your purposes.