What Could Facebook’s 26% Dip in Usage Mean for Franchising?

In 2017, users in the U.S. spent on average 14 hours per month on Facebook, according to Activate Consulting’s Technology & Media Outlook 2020 as reported by Fast Company. In just two years, that number has fallen 26%, to only nine hours. This data was revealed by Activate CEO Michael Wolf at the Wall Street Journal’s Tech Live conference .

Facebook’s dip in usage could be due to several factors. For one, younger users have gravitated toward websites like Instagram, Snapchat and the breakout platform TikTok—the fastest-growing social media app in recent years. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerburg has also come under fire for privacy breaches , selling consumer data and most recently making the decision to not fact-check political ads that are run on the site .

Facebook is still the largest player among social media networks, with a whopping 2 billion users, but this sharp decline in actual usage could mean a lot to advertisers and franchise development teams across industries. Several years ago, Facebook was considered a premier recruitment tool for franchisors. Even today, the platform still reigns supreme as the leader in social media advertising , but those in the franchise industry may want to consider other, more niche social media avenues as potential avenues for marketing going forward.