Average Facebook User Now Has 262 Friends

Remember until recently how social media enthusiasts would go around preaching the awesomeness of Social Media by sharing its stats? And one among those facts was 'average Facebook user has 130 friends'?

Well, you enthusiasts need to revise it with the updated stat now. And you - Consultants and Agency Owners - you now have a even more impressive stat for your pitch to prospects.

Let me just say it again because it sounds so good to my social media ears: An. Average. Facebook. User. Has. 262. Friends.

The '130 friends' stat finds its trace to July 2010 when Facebook had 500 million users. With more people signing up on Facebook and with the help of some fake users, the total Facebook user base is now 955 million and with that, the number of friends one had was bound to change. Look back and try to recollect how many friends you had in mid-2010. And, compare that with today. I am sure there will be a huge leap.

So what does this new stat mean to your business?

• More reach through ticker - Now every time one likes/comments on your page post, it will potentially be visible to 524(262x2) eyeballs.
• More reach through sharing - Create more 'shareworthy' content to so that people help spread you to their 262 friends.
• Better Ad Reach - The target segement for reaching out to 'friends of friends' has got a shot in the arm. Also, sponsored posts will let you reach out to more people. Rejoice!

As a business, you should tap into the phenomenal growth of Facebook and leverage the ever increasing friend connections an average user has. And with Facebook gaining ground in India like never before, you have all the more reasons to cheer.

Source: The Social Habit 2012 Report by Edison Research