The Crowning Social Networking Champ is…

Daily Real Estate News | Monday, January 12, 2015

Facebook continues to dominate the social networking arena, and its competitors still remain far from its reach and popularity.

While Facebook’s growth has slowed, the level of its user engagement has increased. On the other hand, other social networking platforms like Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and LinkedIn have seen “significant increases” over the past year in the proportion of online adults who now use their sites, according to a new survey from the Pew Research Center of more than 1,500 Internet users.

The Pew study found that Facebook held at a 71 percent usage rate among online adults in the U.S. LinkedIn and Pinterest both had 28 percentage usage, and Instagram had 26 percent. Twitter had the smallest usage of the “big” social networks at 23 percent.

About 91 percent of all REALTORS® say they use social media for their real estate business in some way, whether it’s for building relationships, networking, or giving themselves greater visibility and exposure, according to the 2013-2014 REALTOR® Technology Survey Report by the National Association of REALTORS®. Facebook is the most popular platform that real estate professionals use for their business at 77 percent, followed by LinkedIn (75%), Google+ (34%), YouTube (34%), and Twitter (31%).

Facebook’s engagement overall continues to grow among the general public, with 70 percent of users checking in daily, up from 63 percent. Also, 45 percent of those surveyed also say they check in multiple times a day.

On the other hand, with Twitter, 36 percent of users say they’re on the site daily, down from 46 percent in 2013. With LinkedIn, only 13 percent of users say they sign in daily.

Older populations are more drawn to Facebook. Some 56 percent of Internet users aged 65 and older said they used Facebook, the highest number recorded by Pew Research.

Some Internet experts have argued that younger Americans are leaving Facebook in favor of other social networks, but so far studies have not supported that notion. Instagram, which is owned by Facebook, does continue to soar in popularity among younger adults.

Facebook’s Audience Insights analytics offers the following breakdown of active U.S. monthly usage by demographic:

18 to 24 years old: 40 to 45 million active monthly users
25 to 34 years old: 45 to 50 million
35 to 54 years old: 60 to 70 million
55 to 65 years old: 20 to 25 million

Source: “Social Media Update,” Pew Research Center (Jan. 9, 2015); “2013-2014 RELATOR® Technology Survey Report,” the National Association of REALTORS®; and “New Research Shows Facebook Still King of Social Networks,” Forbes.com (Jan. 9, 2015)