Social Network Audience Growth Plateaus in Canada

Facebook audience increases slow, while Twitter will see a double-digit rise this year

Toronto, ON (Jan. 22, 2015) – Canada’s social network user population is reaching a saturation point, with just under 20 million people in the country expected to access social networks at least monthly this year, according to eMarketer’s latest forecast. Just under seven in 10 internet users in the country, or 56.7% of the total population, will use social networks this year. By 2018, the end of our forecast period, those penetration rates will rise slightly to 70.6% and 59.9%, respectively.

Facebook users and penetration in Canada

These penetration rates put Canada right in line with the US, where 55.9% of the population will use social networks this year.

The vast majority of social network users in Canada are on Facebook. Here again, the population is becoming fairly stagnant, with around 93% of social network users in the country expected to use Facebook throughout our forecast period. That translates to just over half the population using the social network monthly.

Twitter users and penetration in Canada

Twitter usage rates tell a different tale. Growth for the Twitter audience in Canada is still in the double digits—though 2015 will be the last year of it. Just over a third of social network users in Canada will use Twitter this year. By the end of our forecast period, the microblogging service will still only be used by under a quarter of Canada’s total population, or 8.5 million people.

Still, Twitter is more popular in Canada than in the US, where just 16.4% of the population, or 20.4% of internet users, are expected to use the social network this year.

About eMarketer

By gathering the latest research and news from over 1,000 sources, eMarketer has established itself as the world’s leading provider of internet and e-business statistics. eMarketer’s Web site is at www.emarketer.com.

eMarketer bases all of its forecasts on a multipronged approach that focuses on both worldwide and local trends in the economy, technology and population, along with company-, product-, country- and demographic-specific trends, and trends in specific consumer behaviors. We analyze quantitative and qualitative data from a variety of research firms, government agencies, media outlets and company reports, weighting each piece of information based on methodology and soundness.

In addition, every element of each eMarketer forecast fits within the larger matrix of all its forecasts, with the same assumptions and general framework used to project figures in a wide variety of areas. Regular re-evaluation of each forecast means those assumptions and framework are constantly updated to reflect new market developments and other trends.

SOURCE: eMarketer