With 845 million active users per month as of December 2011 and about 80% of them from outside the United States and Canada, Facebook has undoubtedly established itself as one of the most important advertising platforms in the world and an indispensable tool for any brand seeking to connect with existing and potential customers in digital media.
Millions of Latino users on Facebook
By using Facebook’s advertising segmentation tools, we were able to identify the number of users on the social network by country. The graph below outlines the most important countries in the region. For example, Brazil has the largest number of users, but not the highest percentage of social network penetration for Facebook (which is higher in several of the other countries).
LATINO POPULATION ON FACEBOOK, BY COUNTRY
COUNTRY |
ON FACEBOOK |
POPULATION |
Brazil |
37,907,400 |
190,732,694 |
Mexico |
32,031,340 |
112,336,538 |
Argentina |
17,784,380 |
41,137,524 |
Columbia |
15,620,240 |
46,115,000 |
Venezuela |
9,484,460 |
27,150,095 |
Chile |
9,174,200 |
17,196,000 |
USA (Hispanics) |
8,439,740 |
44,300,000 |
Peru |
7,986,380 |
29,461,933 |
Ecuador |
4,230,240 |
14,306,876 |
Uruguay |
1,481,200 |
3,356,584 |
Bolivia |
1,462,280 |
10,426,154 |
Paraguay |
971,620 |
6,460,000 |
TOTAL |
138,122,520 |
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The numbers by country give us a good indication of how this social network has permeated each of these countries, but the pan-regional advertising efforts of various brands are focused not so much on entire countries, but rather specific cities.
With this in mind, we measured the Facebook population of 10 major cities in Latin America. Surprisingly, the fourth most populous country on Facebook – Colombia – is first in the rankings by city, thanks to Bogota (where according to data from Facebook itself, the penetration rate is very high).
LATINO POPULATION ON FACEBOOK, BY CITIES
CITY |
COUNTRY |
ON FACEBOOK |
POPULATION |
Bogota |
Columbia |
6,286,360 |
7,961,254 |
Sao Paulo |
Brazil |
5,318,820 |
19,672,582 |
Mexico City |
Mexico |
5,787,760 |
20,137,152 |
Santiago |
Chile |
4,275,560 |
7,428,590 |
Buenos Aires |
Argentina |
3,989,880 |
12,548,638 |
Rio de Janeiro |
Brazil |
3,341,460 |
10,977,035 |
Lima |
Peru |
3,047,780 |
8,472,935 |
Caracas |
Venezuela |
2,686,780 |
5,380,668 |
Guadalajara |
Mexico |
1,753,080 |
4,434,252 |
Monterrey |
Mexico |
1,642,980 |
3,738,077 |
Facebook segmentation in Latin America: how to reach specific customers
Cost per click options are priced at approximately $0.20 and cost per thousand impressions are priced at around $0.15 (bid suggested by Facebook); although the final cost may be much lower if there is not much competition within the selected population.
The main segmentation that can be achieved is by age, as we can see in the following population chart for Latin America. If we add up all young people ages 13 (minors) to 35 (young adults), they comprise about 80% of all Latinos on Facebook.
LATINO POPULATION ON FACEBOOK, BY AGE
AGE |
ON FACEBOOK |
13 – 17 |
26,744,720 |
18 – 25 |
49,146,740 |
26 – 35 |
33,755,400 |
36 – 45 |
16,254,000 |
46 – 55 |
7,832,580 |
56 and up |
4,399,080 |
Another interesting segment is smartphone devices, as they not only allow us to address a specific type of mobile user, but also analyze which platforms are most commonly used today in Latin America.
LATINO POPOLATION ON FACEBOOK, BY DEVICE
DEVICE |
ON FACEBOOK |
Blackberry |
10,566,980 |
Android |
8,044,100 |
iPhone |
5,263,520 |
iPad |
1,422,020 |
Windows Phone |
135,480 |
Finally, the large amount of information that users themselves provide on Facebook is available for use by brands who want to target a specific user. At Portada, we chose 10 interests to show user behavior in all of Latin America, but many more can be found inside the social network.
LATINO POLULATION ON FACEBOOK, BY INTERESTS
INTERESTS (sample) |
ON FACEBOOK |
Video game consoles |
8,300,200 |
Newlyweds |
4,991,180 |
Dancing |
4,221,800 |
Cars |
3,747,360 |
Just moved |
3,471,960 |
Dog owners |
3,170,000 |
Having a birthday this week |
2,603,160 |
Cooking |
1,736,320 |
Small Business owners |
1,591,920 |
Cat owners |
1,108,900 |