Meta Shares Usage Trends

Meta is currently in an ongoing court case with the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) in the U.S., which accuses the company of having an anti-competitive position in social media. If found guilty, this could lead to Meta being forced to sell WhatsApp and Instagram. As part of the case, Meta has released internal data to argue that it doesn’t hold a monopoly. This has been released to the public domain.

The first major takeaway is that video has become the main focus on Facebook, with people spending more time watching video content. According to Meta’s data, Reels are performing well, while engagement with Facebook Stories and the News Feed is declining. Meta also shared that users send 63 times more private messages than they make public posts, highlighting a wider shift: people are using messaging to connect, and video for entertainment.

Another important point is that time spent viewing content posted by “friends” is going down. This points to Facebook becoming more of an entertainment hub that a place to interact with friends and family. The real in app engagements are happening away from the feed now which is becoming more cluttered. As such it might be worth testing messenger adds.

And when TikTok recently went dark in the U.S. for a short period, user activity increased on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube — suggesting that if TikTok were ever to be banned, these platform would likely benefit.

These trends suggest that Irish brands should shift more focus toward short-form video content, particularly Reels, to match where use attention is growing. The decline in “friend” content opens the door for brands to step in with engaging posts that fill the space. Finally, with platforms like TikTok facing ongoing uncertainty, it’s smart for Irish marketers and brands to maintain a strong presence across multiple platforms to stay ahead of any future changes.

Source: Social Media Today