There are 280 million friend requests sent on Facebook every day. Users watch more than four billion videos on the platform, 350 million photos are uploaded daily, on average. 150 billion 'moments' - stories viewed across Facebook and Instagram - happen, every day.
It's these moments that Facebook has been examining as part of their latest research efforts shared via the Facebook IQ Insights blog. Over the last few months, Facebook has shared information about these moments, what people are sharing, when they're searching for different content and the language they use around such events. In doing so, Facebook is hoping to help marketers understand how they can utilize these insights to better reach consumers at the right times in the purchase cycle in order to maximize response.
And now, Facebook has released a new, 50-page whitepaper which is the accumulation of the data they've gathered on these moments, highlighting the insights they've gleaned, along with key takeaways for brands and marketers trying to better understand how their audiences engage on the platform. Here are some of the highlights.
In the Moment
The premise of Facebook's 'Moments That Matter' research is simple - we're moving from a world where people connect around big moments manufactured by the media ("like soap operas, the "Seinfeld" finale and pivotal sports games") to a situation where people are creating and sharing their own moments every day, 24/7. These moments are everything from what you're having for dinner to starting a new job - all of these events are being shared on Facebook, giving marketers access to an unprecedented level of insight into consumer behaviors and interests.
To demonstrate, Facebook has provided data insights into how consumers interact on Facebook and Instagram around such events - for example, getting married.
Now that type of overview might seem somewhat generic - it might help target your advertising to that audience segment by understanding the most popular month people consider getting married, but likely most people in that industry already know that info, right? But Facebook's moments data provides more insight than that - for example, when does honeymoon related conversation peak on the platform?
That type of info offers significantly more value - using this, travel marketers can better target their campaigns based on peak discussion time and the person leading that discussion (clearly, the bride in this case). While you'd still need to know when exactly a couple is set to get married to focus on such detail, it's through the cumulation of this 'moment' data that Facebook is suggesting brands can better focus and hone their content, by getting to know how people discuss each element and aspect within the process, enabling marketers to capitalize on the insights available.
Baby Steps
Another major life event widely discussed on Facebook is having a baby, and Facebook provides a range of research on how and when new parents use the platform around such events.
"New parents spend 1.4X more time on Facebook mobile than non-parents. Moms primarily drive the increase in mobile activity, spending 1.5X more time on Facebook mobile than non-moms, though new dads also spend 1.1X more time on Facebook mobile than non-dads.2"
Again, this type of insight is largely known by those marketing to this sector, but Facebook's data is deeper, with insights like:
There's also data on how new parents are more likely to share content than non-parents - likely because they're spending more time at home with the new baby, with less time to socialize and share content in person.
Based on these insights, Facebook suggests that advertisers looking to reach this market focus on 'snackable' content for mobile moments and look to reach parents in the early hours to capitalize on that audience attention.
Driving Conversions
People also discuss major purchase decisions on Facebook, like buying a new car. Facebook's research team have found that the average consumer considers 2.5 types of vehicles and 5 makes before making their car-purchasing decision.
"2 60% of people are "in market" for a car for at least 6 months, gathering research and seeking advice to help guide their decision making. Besides price, which most people decide on at the beginning of the purchase cycle, consumers refine their choices about what elements they want in their new vehicles-such as vehicle type, size, fuel source, make and other vehicle features-as they become more educated during the purchase cycle."
Yet, while consumer are most open to consideration earlier in the purchase process, people are more exposed to car ads later in the chain, once they've already narrowed down their options to one or two choices. This represents an opportunity for auto marketers to do more research into how consumers discuss their discovery process and target potential customers earlier in the sequence.
One way this can be done is by building greater awareness around the conversations consumers are having which lead to a new car purchase - for example, buying a new car due to a change in family situation.
While this example relates to car marketers specifically, this is the type of intent and focus data Facebook is trying to highlight with 'Moments That Matter'. The data shows that you can use the signals on Facebook to reach your audiences at the peak times that they'll be most interested in your offerings - the conversations are all there, the signals are available. You just have to know what you're looking for.
Time and Place
Facebook's guide also includes a listing of major, 'Once a Year', moments that marketers can use to reach people in a more targeted way, with data on the related Facebook and Instagram conversation around each event.
There's also a section on everyday moments and how these smaller interactions are discussed, including food:
These are all valuable insights into the wider Facebook discussion and all provide great food for thought for how marketers can better utilize and capitalize on both the data and discussion being shared throughout the Facebook eco-system.
Overall, the 'Moments That Matter' whitepaper is a great read, and a great way to get marketers thinking about the possibilities, not only in the data provided, but in how the data has been gathered, and how similar insights could be applied to your specific niche and industry.
You can read the full Moments That Matter whitepaper here, or read what Facebook's Erin Sills, (Director of Global Consumer Insights) and Ann M. Mack (Head of Content Activation) think about the data and insights available in a new Facebook IQ blog post here.