Reuter’s has recently reported that Facebook is poised to overtake television as the primary advertising platform for business advertisers of all sizes. In the course of a year, Facebook users went from viewing 1 billion videos to more than 8 billion – the sort of exponential growth that has resulted in Facebook enjoying record revenues.

Facebook’s user base has grown at the same time people are increasingly switching to mobile devices and streaming services to watch their favorite shows. This means commercials on broadcast and cable TV stations are being seen by fewer and fewer people.

[Tweet “The average #Facebook user spends 40+ minutes per day on the platform.”]

Should you switch your TV advertising dollars to social media? This is one instance where it may be well worth thinking about the power of “and.” Television still has a role to play, particularly if your customers continue to turn to TV for particular types of content, such as local sports or weather coverage.

That being said, understanding where your customers are spending the majority of their free time matters. Facebook reports the typical US user spends 40+ minutes per day on its platform. This time is often spent with the TV actually on; the multi-screening phenomenon also has an impact on how relevant television commercials can be. Some brands have had great success combining television and social media to work together in multi-channel campaigns: this may be a transition step for businesses or it may be the preferred messaging technique for today’s customer – only time will tell.