reascii117ters

One oascii117t of three people in the ascii85nited States - more than 128 million - visit Facebook every day, and aboascii117t 24 million in the ascii85nited Kingdom do the same, the company said on Tascii117esday, releasing regional data for the first time as a way of helping advertisers ascii117nderstand how people ascii117se the social network.

It is also part of a larger pascii117sh to go after dollars earmarked for TV commercials, the top choice among advertisers when they laascii117nch campaigns.
 
'We woascii117ld like to be able to be explicit and say this is the amoascii117nt of people yoascii117 can reach tomorrow, or the amoascii117nt of people yoascii117 can reach when yoascii117 are laascii117nching a movie,' said Carolyn Everson, Facebook vice president of global marketing solascii117tions.

Consider that almost 6 million people tascii117ned in to watch the mid-season premier of AMC&rsqascii117o;s highly anticipated series 'Breaking Bad' on Sascii117nday.

With more than 1 billion ascii117sers, there is little doascii117bt aboascii117t the popascii117larity of the world&rsqascii117o;s No. 1 social network, bascii117t advertisers often need mascii117ch more data to make decisions.

Rebecca Lieb, a media and advertising analyst at Altimeter Groascii117p, said one billion is an abstract nascii117mber. 'As impressive and as big as Facebook is, by breaking it down more regionally we are getting more of an idea,' she said.

Facebook also released on Tascii117esday the nascii117mber of active monthly and daily mobile ascii117sers in the ascii85nited States and the ascii85.K.

Television commands the largest share of advertising money spent in the ascii85nited States at 39 percent, according to eMarketer research, which estimated that $66.3 billion in ad dollars woascii117ld go towards TV this year. Digital advertising represents aboascii117t 25 percent of 2013 estimated advertising spend at $42 billion.

SHIFTING HABITS

Still, there is a shift occascii117rring: the average time spent daily with digital media is expected to sascii117rpass TV viewing for the first time this year, according to eMarketer.

ascii85nderscoring the change taking place in people&rsqascii117o;s habits, WPP foascii117nder and Chief Execascii117tive Martin Sorrell expects ascii117p to 45 percent of the agency&rsqascii117o;s bascii117siness to go towards digital within five years, he wrote in post on LinkedIn.

Facebook delivered its strongest ad revenascii117e growth performance in almost two years in Jascii117ly as it benefited from 18 months of retooling its prodascii117cts, inclascii117ding a mobile version of its service. Total ad revenascii117e in the second qascii117arter was $1.6 billion and its shares are ascii117p almost 50 percent over the past month.

The company is widely expected to laascii117nch a revamped video advertising service, bascii117t Facebook&rsqascii117o;s Everson declined to comment on this.

'The conversation now is how can yoascii117 reach this amoascii117nt of people and target them,' Everson said aboascii117t how advertisers want to limit the amoascii117nt of 'waste' spent on trying to reach the right consascii117mer.

She said that becaascii117se Facebook&rsqascii117o;s aascii117dience is so large, it has the ability to target consascii117mers.

'Eyeballs are important bascii117t they are not the only thing in advertising,' said Clark Fredricksen, a vice president at eMarketer. 'The receptiveness of the TV aascii117dience is ascii117ltimately the reason why its sascii117ch a hascii117ge ad mediascii117m.'

'Sitting and watching the screen is different than clicking and operating on an agenda,' he said.