Adrian Watkins

These venture bets on startups that “returned the fund,” making firms and careers, were the result of research, strong convictions, and patient follow-through. Here are the stories behind the biggest VC home runs of all time.

While other social platforms rise and fall, Facebook, seemingly despite various controversies, has continued to add more daily and monthly active users as time goes on – and The Social Network shows no sign of any significant slow-down on the immediate horizon.

Of course, that’s not the complete picture. While Facebook has continued to add more users in developing markets, some have suggested that the time people spend on Facebook, on average, has been in decline in recent years.

Facebook’s last official update on time spent in its apps came in 2016, when it reported that users were spending 50 minutes per day using Facebook, Instagram and/or Messenger – though that’s not Facebook-specific. The company did provide something of update to this number in 2018, when it reported that changes to Facebook’s News Feed had resulted in a 5% decline in time spent in the app. Estimates suggest that this reduced the Facebook time spent figure to around 41 minutes per day within the app, though again, the numbers here are not Facebook-specific, and the subsequent increases in Instagram and Messenger usage cloud the data somewhat.

But even on the face of it, the 2018 update does show a slowdown. Facebook users were spending 40 minutes per day in the app back in 2014, so even if that 2018 update was Facebook-specific, it would show that Facebook hasn’t added a heap of time spent within the app over that four-year span.

Yet, even so, Facebook has the biggest reach, the most significant perceived influence – even if you don’t use Facebook for hours each and every day, the data shows that you probably do check it. Maybe you log in to see what your friends and family are up to, maybe you engage in groups, share a couple of links. Even if you spend more time in other apps, you’re still exposed to Facebook, and that ubiquity has made it a critical platform for brands in order to connect with their audiences.

Basically, no matter how you look at it, you need to have a Facebook presence for your brand.

Are you looking to make more, or better use of Facebook in 2020? If so, then this collection of stats from the team at Hootsuite is for you – they’ve compiled a listing of key Facebook usage stats to keep in mind, and factor into your planning for the year ahead.

Definitely, the numbers are hard to ignore – you can view the infographic below, or check out Hootsuite’s full Facebook stats report here

This article first appeared on SocialMediaToday