There’s little surprise in the dominance of Facebook in the 3rd annual RBC Capital Markets study of 5,000 U.S. Internet users. The surprise goes to Snapchat, as you’ll see below. The top chart shows 91% of social media users have Facebook accounts, well ahead of number two Instagram (47%). Also note the impressive churn rate (middle section of the chart), as just 5% of respondents said they used Facebook but no longer do. Twitter ranked as the #2 network in the 51+ age groups, yet it decreased across all age younger than 51.
Facebook also was seen as the most important social net for anyone older than 18. RBC asked what social site would you use if you could take one to a desert island? Here 64% of participants chose Facebook, 8% took Instagram, 5% for Snapchat and 6% for Twitter.
The middle chart shows satisfaction levels are best at Snapchat and Instagram, but declining at Twitter (the 280-character change, perhaps?). Also note the dropoff in ’17 at Snapchat (is its new status as a public company causing that?).
Snapchat can take much solace in the bottom chart and marketers should note what the platform’s dominance with teens implies about visually delivered messaging. 44% of teens chose Snapchat for their desert island platform, up from 28% in ’16. RBC also found 79% of 13- to 18-year-olds have Snapchat vs. 73% for Instagram and 57% for Facebook.
