Unlike popular conceptions about Facebook being a « boomer » hangout and Instagram being more popular with the « Gen Z » crowd, the estimates by third parties (with respect to Instagram) and the company itself (with respect to the Facebook platform) indicate that both apps’ main user demographic is predominantly in the 18-44 age range. As with Facebook, while user growth is strong in the Asia-Pacific, Instagram’s revenues are disproportionately attributable to the Western Hemisphere.

These facts should drive home a couple of facts about the company’s financial prospects. Firstly, while much ado is generated about the « Metaverse », it accounts for very little of the company’s revenues in the present (and possibly for quite some time in the near future). Since this next-generation concept is relatively early technology without nearly as much traction as the company’s existing networks, it’s also possible that there will be numerous competitors or alternatives upcoming, some of which are likely in « stealth mode » currently.

Secondly, the company’s captive platform audience and disproportionate revenue breakdown make it heavily dependent on advertising sales in the Western Hemisphere. Like Apple – which was discussed in an article earlier this month – the Meta story is very much an « American » story (or, perhaps broadly, a « Western » one).

Given the importance of ad spending for the company’s financial health, a study of the US advertising landscape (in particular) would be helpful. This isn’t necessarily a straightforward process.

Estimating Ad Spending

There is no single tracker for monitoring ad spending by thousands of companies and brands. However, what can be seen as becoming more and more apparent is that digital ad spending is here to stay. Some sources estimate that the digital domain will stabilize at a 67% share of all ad spending in the U.S over the course of the decade.