When Facebook eliminated the need for Messenger users to have accounts on the social network, countries with lower Facebook penetration were behind the move.
GlobalWebIndex pointed out the following countries where more than 20 percent of Internet users do not have Facebook accounts:
- Japan (61 percent)
- Russia (33 percent)
- Germany (30 percent)
- Sweden (24 percent)
- Netherlands (24 percent)
- France (23 percent)
- Australia (22 percent)
- South Korea (22 percent)
- U.K. (22 percent)
- Belgium (21 percent)
GWI said in an email to SocialTimes:
In a clear move to boost user numbers further–and hence, to maximize the new revenue streams it has been exploring on Messenger–Facebook will be hoping to attract those who have still not signed up to the service, as well as those individuals who have left the social network in recent years.
In a market like the U.S., it’s relatively hard to find people who fall into either of these groups; eight in 10 Americans have accounts and, of those who don’t, the majority are over 45. What’s more, only 3 percent of this group say they use chat apps.
So this is a decision that is likely to have more of an impact elsewhere, especially in places like Russia and Japan, where Facebook has yet to establish the type of dominance it has in other markets. Thanks to the success of VK (formerly VKontakte), for example, one-third of Russian online adults are going without Facebook accounts. In countries like this, where social networking needs are being met by competitors, Messenger could be the way to bring new users into the Facebook universe.
Readers: What do you think of GWI’s conclusions?
No comments:
Post a Comment