In some methods, Fb’s new ad marketing campaign appears to run counter to what individuals are truly utilizing the app for in 2025. But, on the similar time, it additionally highlights the important thing connective advantage of the app, which is probably going what retains many individuals checking in with their Fb feed daily.
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 verify and see if any of your connections has shared something of word.
Which this ad does properly 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 interesting reminder of the facility of Fb to convey folks collectively, even when, as famous, that’s not likely what individuals are utilizing the app for lately.
Certainly, Meta’s personal information reveals that Reels consumption is now the driving power behind Fb utilization, and the one factor that’s producing engagement progress.
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 can be highlighted on this marketing campaign to the outer.
However then once more, why do you verify in on Fb daily?
Right here’s the factor: What I believe (however can’t definitively show with out inner information) is that Fb utilization has declined considerably, when it comes to cumulative time spent, although all people nonetheless checks into their Fb feed daily, simply to see if any of their mates of household, and even previous classmates, have shared something of curiosity.
Fb is now a worthwhile on-line organizer for birthdays and celebrations, which is why Fb’s energetic consumer rely stays so excessive. However I additionally don’t suppose that almost all of individuals are spending a heap of time on the app, with Instagram, YouTube and TikTok probably taking on 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 have been spending in its apps, reporting, for instance, in 2016 that customers have been spending greater than 50 minutes per day, on common, utilizing Fb, Instagram, and Messenger.
However that was the final replace of this factor, with Meta as an alternative now solely reporting total energetic customers. Which is a really completely different measure, however once more, Fb’s energetic consumer rely is very large (over 3 billion customers), and it seems to be significantly 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 properly, albeit in a unique format.
Earlier within the yr, as a part of Meta’s court docket battle towards 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.
Pal sharing, specifically, has declined, as proven on this slide from Meta’s courtroom presentation:
As you may see in these graphs, the time that folks spend within the app participating 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 rely of common minutes spent per consumer within the app, however once more, you may assume that it’s now considerably lower than 50 minutes per consumer per day. Which underlines the concept that most customers are probably solely checking in to see what family and friends have posted, then bouncing off to different apps.
Does that make Fb much less worthwhile? Nicely, it is determined by the way you outline worth. If broad attain is your aim, then Fb stays the place to be, but when the idea is that individuals are spending time scrolling by means of their Information Feed, I might counsel that’s most likely 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 is just not a serious a part of the app. However it’s nonetheless a key connective instrument, and the ad does play into this, and will assist to drive extra curiosity because of this.
Mainly, this can be a long-winded manner of claiming that this can be a good ad, even when it doesn’t immediately align with the way you is likely to be utilizing Fb day-to-day. And it may properly get extra folks checking in on the vacations for catch ups with previous mates.
