Official statistics put the figure at 1,000,000 as of July 2017 but this is a gross understatement as it excludes the diaspora where more than 3 million are estimated to be living.
Just to show that the figure of 1 m is wrong, The popular Dembare Dotcom Facebook Page has 200k members. Some Zim Wome Groups have more than 500,000 members and yet not everyone is on those pages. So the million figure has to be for locally registered numbers. Our total figure may potentially be 4 million active Facebook users across the globe!
What does this mean for business?
Huge market to sell products and services. The numbers are also increasing meaning that in future expect 70% of the population to be on Facebook! Feasible? Yes as internet spreads to all corners of the country, as smart phones become cheaper and data charges going down.
When the economy picks up expect a surge in numbers too. All my kids are being taught IT at school right from primary school…..all of these kids will eventually find themselves joining social media. You want to know the percentage of young people in the country? It is almost 70% meaning a ready market for social media.
When Strive Masiyiwa says the internet of things is the future he really means it. If you are doing business and you have no social media strategy then you risk falling by the way side! If your competitors master and develop strategies that appeal to social media users then trouble for you!
Facebook Boosting Opportunities
So what’s the market share of ZBIN on local social media users? At 32,000 our share is roughly 3% not bad for a small forum. The target is to reach 50% reach of the estimated 4 million users by end of next year.
What is Facebook Boosting?
Open your Facebook page and u will see posts written Sponsored, from Strive Masiyiwa, from Stanbic, from all over the world. Facebook just forces these adverts onto your page whether you like it or not. You have no option but to view- if it’s good enough u can read and join.
Implications
The implication of these stats is that the future is Digital! Whilst some are old school and concentrating on Fabook as a place for socialisation, some are eying money and markets!
For some who see the big picture like Strive Masiyiwa, he is leveraging Facebook to promote entrepreneurship and his Kwese TV project! He has amassed 3 million viewers in a few months. By end of next year expect the numbers to reach more than 20 million
