The age of Facebook vs. MySpace: January edition
Monday, January 05, 2009
What does the real population of Facebook look like? How does it compare to MySpace? This is the latest edition of my look at social networks and their populations from a marketing perspective.
All numbers in this post are US-only and are collected using each site's advertising management systems so they are up to date and accurate from a marketer's perspective. (Who wants to talk about populations that can't be reached by marketing? Not me.)
What you need to know right now:
- MySpace's total population is down 4% in the US
- Facebook now for the first time has more people ages 36-45 than MySpace, soon will overtake 46-50 as well as 31-35
- Facebook's over 30 growth is still booming at around 24% per category
- Facebook's under 30 growth was stagnant
- MySpace still dominant in HS and college age groups
Facebook Overview:
Facebookhad fairly consistent gains across most age groups, however for the first time I see slowdowns in the under 35 population. Surprises include:- Less than 2% growth in the 18-21 and 22-25 year old groups (down from approx. 22% gains over past 4 months)
- 13-17 year old growth is under 8% and the 26-30 year old group gained just over 11%
- Facebook is 56.89% female and 43.11% male
MySpace Overview:
There were some surprising shifts in the population of MySpace this month. Of note:- Overall, the US population on MySpace dropped by 4.16%
- 26.87% drop in the 36-40 age group from November's numbers
- 32.93% drop in the 41-45 age group from November's numbers
- 40.65% drop in the 46-65+ age group from November's numbers
- MySpace is 52.71% female and 47.29% male
MySpace down 4%; Facebook under 30 stagnant; Facebook finally overtakes MySpace in 36-45 populations
January's look at the real age of MySpace vs. Facebook (US)
Click to enlarge image.
Here are the actual December-January numbers:
| AGE RANGE | Δ last month | MySpace | Δ last month | overall variance | |
| 13-17 | 5,593,200 | +7.21% | 17,072,104 | -2.94% | 305% |
| 18-21 | 10,802,300 | +1.24% | 20,326,180 | +1.89% | 188% |
| 22-25 | 7,703,340 | +1.87% | 13,029,345 | +3.32% | 169% |
| 26-30 | 5,966,040 | +11.19% | 10,528,581 | -5.70% | 176% |
| 31-35 | 4,123,740 | +18.27% | 4,958,016 | -15.37% | 120% |
| 36-40 | 3,055,720 | +23.90% | 2,843,813 | -26.87% | 93% |
| 41-45 | 1,580,460 | +26.74% | 1,577,310 | -32.93% | 100% |
| 46-50 | 963,900 | +23.88% | 981,911 | -40.65% | 102% |
| 51-65+ | 1,416,820 | +23.41% | 7,030,912 | -7.51% | 697% |
Other key takeaways and burning questions:
- These numbers represent all total users who can be reached through each site's advertising systems (not all active users)
- I'm continually interested in the Boomer audiences on these sites and how they engage
- MySpace's reporting system has been on the fritz, we'll have to see next month's numbers to get a real sense of the space
- MySpace skews younger than Facebook, engaging more of the highschool population
- Will need to look at Facebook under 30 numbers next month to see if the growth remains slow
What do you think? What other networks are you investigating? The demographics and targeting options on both sites let you reach your audience in targeted/tailored ways.
UPDATE: Data sources: If you're curious, here is where the data comes from on both sites.
- Facebook - Go here http://www.facebook.com/ads/create and edit the audience settings as you wish. No need to even create an ad.
- MySpace - Go here https://advertise.myspace.com and then click "Click here to get started". Enter a test ad. Then you can filter by age/gender/geo/etc.
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