In some methods, Fb’s new ad marketing campaign appears to run counter to what persons are truly utilizing the app for in 2025. But, on the identical time, it additionally highlights the important thing connective good thing about the app, which is probably going what retains many individuals checking in with their Fb feed every single day.
Since you’re not logging in to “think about” your self in some AI-generated picture, or to take a look at the most recent video. You’re opening up the Fb app to test and see if any of your connections has shared something of be aware.
Which this ad does nicely to showcase.
Known as “A Little Connection Goes a Lengthy Means,” Fb’s first ad marketing campaign in 4 years goals to spotlight the worth of connection within the lead-up to the vacation season.
It’s an attractive reminder of the ability of Fb to carry individuals collectively, even when, as famous, that’s not likely what persons are utilizing the app for lately.
Certainly, Meta’s personal information exhibits that Reels consumption is now the driving drive behind Fb utilization, and the one factor that’s producing engagement development.
Final yr, Meta reported that Reels viewing accounts for 60% of all consumer time spent on Fb, whereas Meta additionally reported in its Q2 efficiency replace (in August this yr) that point spent on video content material has grown by greater than 20% year-over-year.
Which means that the overwhelming majority of cumulative time that folks spend within the app is now devoted to watching Reels clips, relegating the connective advantages which might be highlighted on this marketing campaign to the outer.
However then once more, why do you test in on Fb every single day?
Right here’s the factor: What I think (however can’t definitively show with out inside information) is that Fb utilization has declined considerably, when it comes to cumulative time spent, although all people nonetheless checks into their Fb feed every single day, simply to see if any of their mates of household, and even previous classmates, have shared something of curiosity.
Fb is now a beneficial on-line organizer for birthdays and celebrations, which is why Fb’s lively consumer depend stays so excessive. However I additionally don’t suppose that almost all of persons are spending a heap of time on the app, with Instagram, YouTube and TikTok seemingly taking over far more of our cumulative consideration.
However once more, we solely have some measures to point this.
Again within the day, as a part of its common efficiency reporting, Fb used to share updates on the period of time that customers had been spending in its apps, reporting, for instance, in 2016 that customers had been spending greater than 50 minutes per day, on common, utilizing Fb, Instagram, and Messenger.
However that was the final replace of this component, with Meta as an alternative now solely reporting general lively customers. Which is a really completely different measure, however once more, Fb’s lively consumer depend is huge (over 3 billion customers), and it seems to be a lot better for Meta to report that its utilization stays excessive, than to share that precise time spent in its apps has declined.
Although it has additionally confirmed this as nicely, albeit in a unique format.
Earlier within the yr, as a part of Meta’s courtroom battle in opposition to the FTC, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg admitted that the period of time that folks spend on each Fb and Instagram had “gone down meaningfully,” with extra conversations shifting to messaging as an alternative.
Good friend sharing, particularly, has declined, as proven on this slide from Meta’s courtroom presentation:
As you possibly can see in these graphs, the time that folks spend within the app partaking with content material posted by mates declined from 22% in 2023, to 17% in 2025.
And 22% was already a minor quantity of what’s nonetheless technically thought of a “social” media app, with the overwhelming majority of the remainder going to video content material.
Meta hasn’t shared an up to date depend of common minutes spent per consumer within the app, however once more, you possibly can assume that it’s now considerably lower than 50 minutes per consumer per day. Which underlines the concept that most customers are seemingly solely checking in to see what family and friends have posted, then bouncing off to different apps.
Does that make Fb much less beneficial? Nicely, it is determined by the way you outline worth. If broad attain is your purpose, then Fb stays the place to be, but when the idea is that persons are spending time scrolling via their Information Feed, I might counsel that’s in all probability not the case.
It’s additionally attention-grabbing that Meta’s highlighting its connective advantages whereas additionally attempting to get you to interact with its content material regurgitating AI instruments ate each flip, which have completely nothing to do with human connection.
In any occasion, the attention-grabbing factor about this marketing campaign is that Fb is attempting to play up its connective capability, which it is aware of will not be a significant a part of the app. However it’s nonetheless a key connective software, and the ad does play into this, and will assist to drive extra curiosity in consequence.
Principally, it is a long-winded means of claiming that it is a good ad, even when it doesn’t instantly align with the way you may be utilizing Fb day-to-day. And it might nicely get extra individuals checking in on the vacations for catch ups with previous mates.
