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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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46 COMMENTS ON THIS POST To “Facebook Mobile Now Bigger Than Twitter”

  1. designi1 says:

    i made a post recently with some tips how to mobilize the websites and talk little about this new cellphone / internet concern.. this article just helps a lot to justify this new concern and why web designers should take it seriously the mobile web site version.

    ++ nice reading!

  2. Akash Sharma says:

    Facebook has really begin to show some real rocking growth, I think they started with sharing conversations real time with friends and slowly they are getting into everything we conversate about in our daily lives, for an example the recent Paypal deal, though its targeting their advertising platform users but it can soon become a e-commerce stuff for its general users, Great possibilities are ahead for Facebook and their power will always be people.
    Thanks for sharing the thoughts and the map……

  3. Mike Stenger says:

    Great point Brian. Regarding optimizing, I think it's just an even better reminder that on your social media accounts, keep things as short and informative as possible.

  4. robertfransgaard says:

    Recently there's been talks about more and more companies blocking the likes of Facebook so the fact that Facebook Mobile is growing makes sense as blocking Facebook on work PCs will probably result in people just surfing their favourite social network on their mobile phones.

  5. I'm exhausted keeping up with all of this, and frankly… I am just starting to realize it doesn't matter in the slightest. Everyone will get there without me yammering on about it.

    I am finally shedding my care for all this nonsense. It feels good.

  6. David says:

    Hi Brian,

    Great post. I read all of your mobile posts and find them very informative. Here's a link you may find of interest to an investment banking report that talks about the future of mobile:

    http://www.morganstanley.com/institutional/tech…. (No worries, you don't have to read all 96 pages there is a summary).

    Keep up the good work and I loved your book “Putting the Public Back in Public Relations.”

    Best,
    David

    P.S. Look forward to working together with Futureworks on a future business!

  7. phuboi says:

    This does not surprise me at all. Many that use twitter also have a blog or website to point viewers to. This limits the size of actual and potential twitter users. The number of people that use facebook far exceeds the number of twitter users. Intersect the sets of Facebook and smartphone users and that is a very sizable number.

  8. JLEck says:

    The question is which site will be the next big thing? Soon Facebook will lose its luster and begin to fade as did myspace and now twitter. Who will replace the Face?

  9. Another brilliantly simple but analytical post. Totally agree with you. Problem is poor (or lack of) advice has led many brands to trying facebook by setting up a fan page etc without fully understanding the platform, then ditching it. And there's the common scenario where an ad agency will set up a micro-site and attempt to use facebook to drive traffic to that microsite. Lots of challenges through education ahead, but great to see a post where it very clearly outlines the where brands should be focusing their attention. Great work. Really. Thanks and keep it up.

  10. Tim Holmes says:

    I'm sure that this post of your will help social media marketers a lot of help. Also see http://www.aceaffiliates.com/affiliate-educatio

  11. igobydoc says:

    Excellent post Brian,

    I have really been a fan of twitter over facebook for the last year or so, and I think I need to get back on over there. Especially now that I am working on a new business where a fan page would be perfect.

    I had a client with a fan page (hamburger restaurant) and their fan page far exceeded results compared to what twitter was bringing in. Granted, the client company did zero advertising of their twitter account.

    From what I have seen, it seems like you can get more of a ravenous fan base really working for you on Facebook, much more and possibly faster than twitter.

    Again, great post, and thanks for the kick in the butt to get Facebook rocking again!

    Doc

  12. Reno says:

    It was only a matter of time! Twitter is just becoming to noisy the bigger it grows. I recently heard that major players with a huge number of followers such as John Reese from the online marketing field have dropped it. You cannot compare it to the facebook platform and all that it offers.

  13. Keish15023 says:

    We are trying to create more awareness and raise the public profile of a recent reality television series winner. Would setting up a Facebook page be the most effective form of using social media?

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