Despite Facebook’s continued growth abroad, attracting over 450,000 new users a day, the site is facing some challenges in expanding in certain markets. Looking at our Facebook demographics tool, we’ve found a number of countries with decreasing activity on Facebook: Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Egypt, Ireland, Kenya, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and a few others.
While the vast majority of countries are providing rapid growth for Facebook, the company is finding it increasingly challenging to fight against local social networks as BusinessWeek writes this morning. In Holland, Hyves is proving to be a formidable opponent. In Germany, Facebook is facing hurdles from StudiVZ. As with all social networks, users tend to go where their friends are and currently in many countries, users’ friends are on local social networks, not Facebook.
So what will drive these users to make the switch to Facebook? There are a number of things that will convert the users and there are numerous types of strategies that could be used. Facebook has already attempted to use street marketing in Germany which has encountered mixed results. Site usage in Germany continues to increase but traffic is still far behind StudiVZ.
The biggest drive of new user adoption to Facebook will most likely be applications that have been translated into a site’s native language. With the addition of Facebook’s application email invite feature and the extension of Facebook’s translation tool to applications, it’s clear that Facebook is banking on application developers to drive new user adoption.
It’s a smart strategy. The collective force of the hundreds of thousands of Facebook developers will provide more promotional power than Facebook could ever drive as an individual organization. Give developers an incentive to create popular applications and they’ll take care of the promotions. So far advertising revenue has been a solid enough incentive.
I regularly argue that Facebook should provide more incentives but currently the company appears satisfied with adding more than 450,000 users a day. I would be satisfied as well! What strategies do you think Facebook should use for expanding into countries with dominant local social networks?
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StudiVZ is getting more and more irrelevant in Germany. In my opinion will in future “who knows who” (www.wer-kennt-wen.de) and meinVZ (www.meinvz.de) a bigger revival for Facebook then studiVZ.
Comment by Kevin Euteneuer — January 12, 2009 @ 1:51 pm
StudiVZ is getting more and more irrelevant. There are bigger revivals on the way, like WKW (www.wer-kennt-wen.de)and meinVZ (www.meinvz.de).
Comment by Facebook User — January 12, 2009 @ 9:28 pm
If local apps are truly driving new users outside US, then, if I were a user from Germany, I would like to know what are the local apps that I could use that makes facebook better than StudiVZ or meinVZ.
So facebook should focus on making application discovery easy for each local country user. Also, encourage applications or facebook features that could allow active US users to invite their friends abroad to facebook.
Also I am curious why German social network sites have a VZ in their url, what does it stand for?
Comment by Sudha Jamthe — January 13, 2009 @ 8:11 am
There is nothing you can do to make Facebook better then StudiVz or MeinVz. Facebook allready is much better then Studivz/MeinVz. They are both actually the same: One is for Students, the other for Non-Students, its just a different login-page, you can have friends from both. MeinVz was lauchend recently that is why StudiVz is decreasing, many have switched their profile which people had there despite not being a student.
I believe the problem of reaching out to studivz users is one of habits: Many people don't know Facebook (so they don't miss anything) and have all their friends there. So why change? I personally don't like StudiVz and hope Facebook solves this by buying them. I do not know about Wer-kennt-wenn.de (who-knows-who). It has very much users, but I know none of them and it operates on invite only basis.
Comment by Mark — January 13, 2009 @ 9:19 am
It stands for "directory" in English and "Verzeichnis" in German.
You are right Sudha. But one of the biggest problem is – and i think it will continue – that facebook for beginners is very very complex and complicated…
Another problem is that aren't a lot of german people on facebook, so it makes for a lot of people no sense and they don't see a reason to switch to facebook.
Comment by Facebook User — January 14, 2009 @ 1:37 am
As a previous Dutch hyves user I can tell you there's no added value in this social network opposed to facebook. Hyves is very childish and does not focus on the core business of social networks: getting in contact with friends, family etc. Its more a popularity contest for insecure 13 year old people who battle for whom gets the most friends
Thats also why I canceled my hyves account and joined facebook as many of my Dutch friends are doing now as well.
Comment by Monique — April 3, 2009 @ 6:30 am