Meta (META) is looking to revitalize its Facebook app for users other than weird Uncle Greg with a new push to capture the attention of Gen Z. Facebook boss Tom Alison is pitching the social network as a place for young users adults ages 18-29 connect, shop and stay up to date with the latest trends.
“To stay relevant, we have to build for the next generation of social media consumers…Gen Z,” Alison said during a creator-centric event in New York City on Friday. “Our product roadmap is driven by the needs of young adults.”
The 20-year-old social network that turned Meta into a tech powerhouse isn’t as popular with teens as its sister app, Instagram. According to Piper Sandler’s latest survey, Taking Stock with Teens, only 32% of teens use Facebook every month, compared to 80% who use Instagram and 72% who access TikTok.
But according to Alison, Facebook is compatible with users in their late teens and 20s who are going through several changes in their lives.
“As we did a lot of research, we saw, for example, that when someone is moving into their first apartment, they are already [Facebook] Market. And then they… often join a group at their new college to meet new people,” Alison said.
“And we realized, well, a lot of this kind of thing is already happening on Facebook. We just need to do a good job of putting it all together.”
Part of this process included attracting creators to join the platform, improving its video efforts through its short-form video platform, Reels, and its search function.
The strategy appears to be working so far. According to Alison, Facebook has been growing in the US for several quarters and year over year with young adults. What’s more, people spend 60% of their time on Facebook watching videos.
Facebook suffered a rare blow after user numbers declined in the second quarter of 2022, from 2.936 billion monthly active users to 2.934 billion, prompting predictions that the platform was on a downward trajectory. Since then, however, the social network has grown every quarter of From the third quarter of 2022 to the fourth quarter of 2023. The company did not report monthly active Facebook users in its latest quarterly report.
Alison says her team was initially concerned that the platform’s updates might alienate the older users the social network has become associated with.
The group, however, has largely taken advantage of the feature improvements, as have the Millennials who first joined the social network when it launched in 2014.
“I think Facebook has had unique staying power because we’ve always been willing to change,” Alison said.
Email Daniel Howley at dhowley@yahoofinance.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DanielHowley.
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