Reaction to “Over 25% of Facebook Users Have Deleted the App from their Phone”

Darby B. Paget
Sep 6, 2018 · 2 min read

This article was posted by the Search Engine Journal Sept. 5, 2018, at https://www.searchenginejournal.com/over-25-of-facebook-users-have-deleted-the-app-from-their-phone/268357/

Recap/key takeaways:

According to the Pew Research Center, “44% of users ages 18 to 29 have deleted the Facebook app,” as well as “12% of users ages 65 and older.”

However, the daily number of users remains right around 185 million.

Analysis:

What this means for businesses using social media as one of their tactics is that they need to now reconsider a couple of things.

First, it seems as if the demographic most interested in keeping Facebook as one of their main social media sources is the older crowd. This means that companies will need to reassess what kind of content they are posting, everything from the format (text, video, graphic, photo, poll, etc.) to the tone, as the group in the 65-plus bracket responds significantly differently to different kinds of content.

Second, they need to understand how to appeal to the users who got rid of their apps but are still logging in daily. The way the Facebook app is set-up tends to lend itself to a different user experience, so if people are logging in straight from the browser, companies need to make sure they are still providing them with a valuable experience.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, businesses will need to reassess their overall social media strategy across all platforms. If users are deleting apps from their phones, chances are that app has been replaced with another app or another platform. Although many people are on multiple platforms, they will only spend their time on the ones that provide them the most value and the most interesting experience.

So if folks are fleeing from Facebook, companies need to find out where they are fleeing to and consider incorporating that new destination into their strategy.

Facebook may still be considered a dominant platform, but people have choices, and companies need to make sure they are catering to their audiences!

Darby B. Paget

Written by

Communication grad student.