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By on February 3, 2009

Women Over 55 Are Helping Facebook Takeoff

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Yep, you read that headline right. According to MediaPost, women over the age of 55 are the fastest-growing user group on Facebook over the last three months. This is significant considering how rapidly Facebook has been growing these last few months (600k users a day!).

The study also reports several other statistics that marketers should take note of:

  • Women make up 56.2% of Facebook users—outnumbering men in almost every age group
  • 25% of U.S. Facebook users are over the age of 35—considering that Facebook started as a college platform, this is very surprising.
  • 45% of U.S. users are over the age of 26—this isn’t as surprising as you take into account that this is now about the average age of early Facebook adopters.
  • Teenagers only account for 12% of Facebook users. This actually made my jaw drop. I would have thought teenagers would be the dominating age demographic on a social site like Facebook.

Are you surprised by these statistics? How will this affect your marketing strategy?


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12 comments on “Women Over 55 Are Helping Facebook Takeoff”

  1. katy Says:

    February 3rd, 2009 at 7:32 pm

    very interesting. It’s no surprise there are more women than men.

    katy’s last blog post..Pistachios a surprisely healthy snack

  2. Allison Reynolds Says:

    February 3rd, 2009 at 7:44 pm

    Not so surprising I think
    - Facebook has always been college age and up oriented
    - Women generally like the social aspect of social networking
    - Older women have not had a way of reaching out beyond their local boundaries and networks until Facebook
    - My mother loves Facebook because she can keep in touch with her children and grandchildren and see the latest pictures and videos

    Allison Reynolds’s last blog post..SWBN Podcast #006: Ed Dale, Business Beginnings and the Thirty Day Challenge

  3. Bill Tamminga Says:

    February 4th, 2009 at 1:53 am

    Good points, Allison. Those Boomers and soon to be Boomers have the money to be retired or semi-retired, so they have time on their hands. The geographic distance between families is often large. Plus, it feels cool to a lot of people to use technology and connect with other people, be it long lost friends or family members. Why not Facebook?

  4. Mark Wilson Says:

    February 4th, 2009 at 4:08 am

    600k a day!! That’s crazy. It doesn’t surprise me though, that teen only account for 12%. I think that teen like the busier myspace style.

  5. Facebook Demographics | Orangejack LLC Says:

    February 4th, 2009 at 11:54 am

    [...] Andy Beal the Marketing Pilgrim pointed me to these stats. [...]

  6. Milo Says:

    February 5th, 2009 at 12:41 pm

    And who says social networking is for kids?!

  7. Neil Says:

    February 5th, 2009 at 5:25 pm

    My mum has just found Facebook. I get silly messages everyday when she just forwards everything her friends send her to me.

  8. Wayne Liew Says:

    February 5th, 2009 at 6:29 pm

    It’s fun to see how Facebook grows. The interaction opportunities on the site is great since more and more people are “getting” it. Most of the stats above are with regards to the US but Facebook is growing fast outside US as well.

    Wayne Liew’s last blog post..15 Excuses Stopping Aspiring Entrepreneurs from Starting Out

  9. Quelques stats de Facebook | Samarkande Says:

    February 5th, 2009 at 11:47 pm

    [...] quelques chiffres tirés d’un article de Taylor Pratt : * Les femmes de 55 ans sont le groupe d’utilisateurs ayant la croissance la plus rapide sur [...]

  10. Some interesting web posts connected with the 5th Anniversary of Facebook « Dr. Dave Dulany’s Blog Says:

    February 8th, 2009 at 9:51 am

    [...] http://www.marketingpilgrim.com/2009/02/women-over-55-are-helping-face book-takeoff.html [...]

  11. Angela Says:

    February 9th, 2009 at 12:25 pm

    I don’t find those numbers surprising at all. I’m 26, and I have multiple older family members in the 50+ age range on my facebook. As well as coworkers, teachers, etc. I have a teen at home, and from what I can tell, because Facebook is less customizable and “full of old people” they simply aren’t as interested.

    I think the supposed “downsides” teenagers see in Facebook is what draws in an older crowd there, Less annoying kids, easy to navigate, and clean looking.

  12. Barbara Ling, Virtual Coach Says:

    February 17th, 2009 at 5:37 pm

    I’m not surprised at all either. On Facebook, not only do I have my business profile but I also have my friends profile, in which many women my age and older participate in close-knit groups.

    Facebook is also excellent for non-techie folks to reconnect with their high school/college classmates from back before the earth’s crust cooled.

    Data points, Barbara

    Barbara Ling, Virtual Coach’s last blog post..Must-have HIGH payout alternative to Google Adsense