Facebook Use By Country: See Who Spends The Most Time Social Networking (STUDY)

An international study into the use of social networks by Experian®, the global information services company, reveals just how much time people living in different countries spend on Facebook. Singaporeans emerge from the study as those who spend the longest on the social network site, with an average of 38 minutes and 46 seconds per session, while people living in Brazil spend less than half that with an average of 18 minutes and 19 seconds per Facebook session.

According to the analysis by Experian Hitwise, the average session time on Facebook in August 2011 across the eight countries varied significantly as highlighted in table 1 below:

Market

Average time spent on Facebook in August 2011 per session

1st
Singapore
38 mins 46 sec

2nd
New Zealand
30 mins 31 sec

3rd
Australia
26 mins 27 sec

4th
UK
25 mins 33 sec

5th
US
20 mins 46 sec

6th
France
21 mins 53 sec

7th
India
20 mins 21 sec

8th
Brazil
18 mins 19 sec

Understanding average time spent on Facebook, the world’s most widely used social network, illustrates the importance of brands needing to be on social networks. By knowing that an average social network user in Singapore, will for example, spend an average of 38 minutes on Facebook means that a brand can increase the likelihood of capturing an individual's attention by running digital marketing campaigns through Facebook. Content and advertising which is compelling will ultimately lead to greater engagement in social networks and consequently greater sales, whether on the brand's own website or indeed within Facebook.

Ankur Shah, CEO and co-founder, Techlightenment, an Experian company, commented: “The power of social networks like Facebook is that in some respects they don’t have any boundaries and make the world a much smaller place. Knowing the market share social networks have in each country and the level of usage is key to social networking success. However, our research shows that the way individuals use social media can and does change according to cultural and personal backgrounds – therefore ‘one size definitely doesn’t fit all’ when it comes to digital. For any international brands to be successful in their digital campaigns, they must understand the local, digital and personal nuances that exist.”

Extracted from: http://www.experianplc.com/news/company-news/2011/27-09-2011.aspx