Like Mark Twain, the early reports on the death of Facebook clearly have been an exaggeration especially when it comes to real estate. It remains the social media channel that is still the best place to stay top of mind among the greatest number of home buyers and sellers. And it’s still the best media channel for real estate agents to keep in front of their peers.

Social media is not dying at all. In fact, the average person will now spend more than 5 years of his or her life on social media, according to influencer marketing agency Mediakix. Only watching TV currently consumes more of our lifespan (7+ years).

 

By The Numbers

Social media is gaining strength, according to the latest data from The Manifest Social Media Study for 2018. The vast majority of us are using social media: 86%. More people are using numerous channels this year than last year, and are using social on multiple platforms (mobile, desktop, tablets).  And females are more active users: 75% use social media several times a day, compared to 64% of males.

The numbers for Facebook overall show its enduring strength. More people visit Facebook once a week than any other Social Media channel.

A whopping 82% of us visit Facebook at least once a week. YouTube is gaining on Facebook, and so is Instagram, which ironically, is owned by Facebook. Three out of four of us are on Google-owned YouTube once a week. More than half of us (53%) are on Instagram at least once a week.

 

The Big Shift

YouTube and Instagram were the big social media channel winners in 2018, The Manifest study says. YouTube, Instagram, and Snapchat achieved the most substantial gains in the number of people using social media year over year. Facebook came in fourth. Nearly two in three social media users said they use YouTube (63 percent) and Instagram (61 percent) more in 2018 than 2017, and more than half – 58 percent – said they used Snapchat more in 2018 versus 2017. That compares to 52 percent who say they use Facebook more this year than last year.

 

Mobile Still Dominates

The least surprising statistic is that mobile and socials still go together like Peanut Butter and Jelly. More than two-thirds of us (67%) access social media through a Mobile Web App and 41% access social media through a Mobile Web Browser. More than half of us (53%) access via Computer Web browsers. This data reflects the fact that we access social media through different platforms.

The coolest statistic: one in ten of us already access social media through our smartwatch.

 

The Bottom Line

Don’t dial down your focus on social media. Yes, it has been battered and bruised and is anything but perfect. But social media, and Facebook, in particular, is still remarkably powerful and probably the most cost-effective way there is to reach your key audiences. The data suggests it will continue to remain so.