SocialCode Unveils Facebook Advertising Research: Younger Facebook Users Have …

WASHINGTON, Aug 30, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) –
SocialCode, a full-service Facebook agency working with top global
brands and agencies to translate their marketing goals on to Facebook,
today announced results from a new Facebook advertising research study.
The research examined over four million data points across over 50
clients from a wide variety of industries to get a better understanding
of how age and gender affect click-through rates (CTR) and ‘Like’ rates
on Facebook. Results show that for ads with a ‘Like’ button, older
Facebook users have a higher CTR while younger Facebook users will tend
to click ‘Like’ directly within the Facebook ad.

“In general, younger Facebook users are more comfortable using the
‘Like’ button than older users at this point,” said Laura O’Shaughnessy,
CEO, SocialCode. “With inline fan ads on Facebook, older users have a
high level of interaction and curiosity about the ads as evidenced by
their high CTRs, whereas younger users have a higher propensity to click
the ‘Like’ button right in an ad on Facebook. We assume that while older
users are adopting Facebook at a high rate, they are also the newest
subset to join the social network, meaning they may not have high friend
numbers so ads are less likely to have social context in advertisements.”

AGE FINDINGS

The SocialCode study found that while age has a strong positive effect
on whether a user will click; it oftentimes has the opposite effect on
the likelihood of the user becoming a fan of a page.

–
50+ year-old users, the oldest segment in the study, are 28.2 percent
more likely to click through and 9 percent less likely to ‘Like’ than
18-29 year-old users, the youngest group observed

–
Versus the rest of the younger population on Facebook, 50+ users see a
22.6 percent higher CTR and 8.4 percent lower ‘Like’ rate

GENDER FINDINGS

When broken down by gender, age has a much more pronounced effect on CTR
for women than it does for men, whereas for men there is a stronger
effect on ‘Like’ rate than women.

–
Overall, women are 11 percent more likely to click on an ad

–
‘Like’ rates are almost even for men and women; men are actually 2.2
percent more likely to ‘Like’ an ad than women

–
For women, CTR is 31.2 percent higher for the 50+ age group versus
18-29 year olds, men only see a 16.2 percent difference between the
age groups

–
Versus all age groups, 50+ women’s CTR is 22 percent higher versus a
16.4 percent difference for males

–
The oldest male segment has an 11.7 percent lower ‘Like’ rate than the
youngest segment, and 9.5 percent lower ‘Like’ rate versus all age
groups. Women only see a 7.2 percent and 7.9 percent difference
respectively

The age and gender research study conducted by SocialCode examined over
four million data points for ads containing a ‘Like’ button across over
50 clients in different verticals for the past ten months. While
performance varies greatly based on multiple variables, this study looks
at the aggregate trends for gender and age seen in the marketplace.

About SocialCode

SocialCode is a full-service Facebook agency specializing in performance
marketing. SocialCode’s unique tools are built on a research engine that
offers analytics and information for advertisers that far surpasses what
they could get anywhere else. With advanced quantitative methods,
SocialCode specializes in building targeted communities, engaging those
audiences and monetizing potential customers all while conducting
research to inform strategy.

SOURCE: SocialCode

        
        for SocialCode 
        Denise Welch, 781-849-2022 
        denise@dottedlinecomm.com
        

Copyright Business Wire 2011

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