Proof that, at least regionally, people aren't logging into FB as much

[GoNC]

We've talked a lot about teens and adults leaving FB, and how its demise is on the horizon. I've complained quite a bit about how my business page now has very little reach.

I ran a little test to see exactly what results I would get, and I found something that surprised me a little.

First, note that my business targets a local audience (in North Carolina, USA). The page has 2,336 likes, but for the last several months, my posts have a "Total Reach" that ranges from 30 to 553. On average for the last several months, the posts reach about 16% of my fans.

On my personal page, I have 808 friends (most of whom know me due to my job, and live within my local region). So, I posted this on my personal page:

***
I'm hoping everyone will do me a favor. If you see this post, just like it. It doesn't mean anything, there's no joke or set-up, I'm just curious how many of my "friends" are still actually on Facebook.
***

After a week, I had 157 likes on this post. I'm sure that a few more saw it and didn't like it, but still, let's say around 20%.

That percentage matches up with the business page's percentage pretty closely. This leads me to think that 75-80% of my friends on FB, and presumably the region, have stopped logging in as much, or even at all.

Which doesn't really surprise me. I log in daily to view the business page, but don't really look at the News Feed anymore. So I'm considered an active account, even though I'm not really active at all. I also have 20+ other business pages, and log in to those maybe 2 or 3 times a month... I wonder if that's considered 20+ different accounts, or just one?

For the sake of comparison, it would be interesting if others made a similar post on their personal Facebook page, to see what percentage of their friends see and like the post.

[tangor]

Okay, this is philosophy based on some hard science... and may not be a proper reply to the OP...

Hasn't it been a known fact that for every action there are 10 who don't for what... since Ugh and Ughette sat around campfires with the little Uglies? (Think hunter/gatherer human history and how many of the tribe actually hunted).

FB is no different... a hump... ie, slow to start, then rise pretty fast and steep, find the top, then begin to fall the same as the rise. So far we're not at FB's hump top (IMO) but getting close.

That said, there's just too many on FB getting tired of the service and, in some cases, outraged by FB sending emails to their private accounts saying "it's been a while since you were on Facebook. There's been new..." (Count me among those.) Turn on an email filter to make it go away and the engagement with FB also begins to erode.

This is natural, should be expected, and the desperation to keep folks coming back to FB is also proof that WEBSITES eventually lose visitors. Why? The act of logging in, or go to a place to get something, requires action from the USER. Who eventually become bored (normal people, not the obsessives, also 1 in 10, to be found in any population).

Email on the other hand is there every day. No action on the user part. And might be among he reasons why FB then G have done all they can to get users to migrate to their MAIL systems.

I might shop at xyz for a bit, then qrs comes along until I get bored and go to abc... but def is with me all the time... (think postal, or email).

It's not regional. It's human nature. People get bored, but whatever COMES TO THEM without any action on their part will have some impact.

Websites (yours, mine, FB, G, B, and Y) are not NOT delivered. They are ACCESSED by folks, and if the reason to access diminishes, so will the traffic. Heck, even cable tv or broadcast tv has the same problems!

Only grocery stores and gas stations are guaranteed access/desire by folks. Every other biz on the planet comes in second.

We're all seeking the love factor, the burning desire, the just gotta have it that keeps folks coming back and getting others we've never seen to come find us.

Just bear in mind, few people are explorers. Seekers. Adventurers. We like to pretend to be that, but only Columbus (and Amerigo and a few others) ever did the exploration. Marco Polo may have opened the China trade... but dang few others have.

1 in 10, kiddies (or 10 in 100)... that's the percent who engage. Does not mean you don't have others who might follow one of the 1 in 10, only a sure and certain knowledge they won't run the long course.