The latest research from GlobalWebIndex says industry talk of Facebook's demise is "over-exaggerated", while also noting the social media landscape is increasingly shifting to mobile.
According to the "GWI Social" report, Facebook lost 3% of its active users worldwide in the second half of 2013, but still towers over other social networks with a 49% active user base.
The report details trends rather than actual user numbers, with other major social networks showing comparatively modest growth. Google+ grew its user base by 6% (up to 23% in total), LinkedIn by 9% (up to 13% in total), and Twitter by 2% (up to 20% in total), between the second and fourth quarter of last year.
Most of the active users on the top social network platforms are in the 25-34 age group.
SA's social media landscape is dominated by Facebook, with 9.4 million active users, according to research by Fuseware and World Wide Worx.
Fuseware MD Mike Wronski says the adoption of both Facebook and Twitter shows little sign of declining locally. "We still have some time to go before we start reaching a saturation point," he adds.
'Mobile-first strategy'
GlobalWebIndex says the biggest growth trends lie in networking and messaging apps, with WeChat increasing its user base by 379%, while WhatsApp grew its user base by 35% in the latter half of the year.
App analytics firm Distimo lists WhatsApp as the most popular choice in SA on Apple, Google Play and BlackBerry app stores, while WeChat lags further behind.
Wronski says this could shift over time. "WeChat seems to be the only platform that is actively marketing itself across multiple channels in SA. Since they are part-owned by Naspers, we will probably see some interesting publisher and brand partnerships in the future, which may see WeChat uptake increase significantly."
The report says users spend less time on PCs, as shown by an increase in mobile app use for many social networks - "a shift which underlines the growing importance of mobile-first (or even mobile-only) audiences", says GlobalWebIndex.
Wronski notes companies need to know their market before rushing in pursuit of a mobile-first strategy. "A brand needs a 'people-first' strategy - and if that means their target market are app-savvy mobile users, their strategy needs to reflect this."
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