Do you know who spends the most time on Facebook?

Adults 18-34 spend the most time on the site per week, at 8.5 hours out of 22.4 spent online.  Weekly Facebook time drops to 4.6 hours among users ages 55 and older, representing a lower proportion of that group’s average of 21.5 hours per week on the internet.

Facebook Highly Trafficked by Asians 

Facebook usage is heaviest by Asians. Not only did that group spend the most hours per week on the site, but they also devoted the greatest percentage of their weekly internet time to Facebook (39.6%, compared with 35.1% among blacks, the second-highest group).

Facebook Appeals to a Higher Income Bracket

Incomes also rose from less than $50,000 up to $100,000.  Affluent Facebook users making at least $100,000 annually spent the most time on the site and on the web as a whole.  In Q1 2010, comScore found that the visitors who spent the most time on Facebook also spent the most money online.

Source:  eMarketer

My Two Cents

Facebook advertising is very efficient and cost effective. It is just another touch point along the consumer path and a great way to connect with them.  Facebook is a great way to get out to the masses without the sticker shock.  Typically what I have seen with PPC (pay-per-click) campaigns on Facebook is that you often get way more impressions than you pay for. 

That is the beauty of PPC campaigns.  Millions of people may see your ad but you only pay if that person clicks on your ad and goes to your site.  Also with Facebook you can target based on age, gender, relationship status, likes & interest, education & work and connections on Facebook.   

So I am interested in running ads on Facebook.  How much budget should I set aside? 

I would recommend setting up a daily budget of $50 to start.  Remember that you only pay if someone clicks on your ad.  If your creative lacks an incentive to click then the chance of running through this budget is unlikely. Also keep in mind that Facebook uses an algorithm (just like PPC on Google) that ranks your ad in “popularity” and this has direct impact on positioning.  If your ad is performing well chances are you will find that ad at the top of the page. 

Even if you have a massive budget this doesn’t ensure that your ad will fall near the top.  The creative must be compelling and people must be clicking on your ad.  Also, more impressions will be served up if your ad is performing well.  Remember that Facebook only gets paid if someone clicks on your ad so of course they are going to run those top performing ads more. 

You can also pay-per-impression (CPM) if you would rather have the guarantee that your ad will run a certain number of impressions over the campaign’s flight.