Facebook Opens French Sales Office, Penetration Reaches 10% of French Population

December 10th, 2008

By Justin Smith

Facebook is growing at a blistering pace in France: the number French users on Facebook has exploded 408% in 2008 from 1.2 million at the beginning of the year to over 6.1 million today, or 10% of the country’s population.

As a result, Facebook today announced that it is opening a sales office in France for the first time, led by Damien Vincent. Blake Chandlee, Facebook’s Commercial Director for Europe, said, “Over the next few months, Damien will be building a sales team in Paris in recognition of the increasing desire by companies in France and nearby countries to make advertising on Facebook a part of their growth strategy.”

“Our average French user has 72 friends, of which more than a dozen live in other European countries, the United States or additional international locations,” Chandlee added.

Simultaneous with the announcement of Facebook’s first French office is the Facebook Developer Garage Paris, happening at Le Web. The garage agenda will include presentations by Dave Morin, Senior Platform Product Manager at Facebook, on the Facebook Platform; Franck Mahon of Netvibes on Facebook Connect; and Mathieu Nouzareth, President & CEO of Cafe.com/Boonty, on the games space on Facebook.

In addition, to celebrate the growth of Facebook in France, we’re proud to officially launch La Bible du Marketing sur Facebook: 38 manières (et +) de promouvoir votre marque, entreprise, produit ou service à l’intérieur de Facebook.

Translated by Patrice Bonfy of Sociabliz, La Bible du Marketing sur Facebook is the definitive resource for advertisers, businesses, and developers interested in learning all the latest tactics to reach a large audience on Facebook today through grassroots marketing, advertising, or Platform applications.

Santé!

Check out The Facebook Marketing Bible: 50+ Ways to Market Your Brand, Company, Product, or Service Inside Facebook.

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Filed in Advertising, Applications, Business, Development, Facebook, International, Marketing

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8 Responses to “Facebook Opens French Sales Office, Penetration Reaches 10% of French Population”

Tomas Corona Says:
December 10th, 2008 at 5:27 am
I have a friend working at a Realtor in Argentina and he told me that they are looking for a big office for Facebook too.
Facebook Switzerland Reaches 1 Million Users, Penetration Reaches 14% of Population Says:
December 10th, 2008 at 12:00 pm
[...] today, we noted how Facebook has grown at a blistering 400% pace in France in 2008, and now is used by 10% of the entire French [...]
Michel Guenoux Says:
December 11th, 2008 at 2:40 pm
Hi all,

Facebook Developer Garage in Paris was fine, you can read a summary (in french) on the French blog applications-facebook.com : http://www.applications-facebook.com/facebook-developer-garage/retour-sur-le-facebook-developer-garage-leweb08-65

I put slides of my presentation for thoses who maybe interested in the issue Iframe VS FBML (in french, but i can’t send you an english version !)
Michel Guenoux Says:
December 11th, 2008 at 2:41 pm
Sorry, I CAN send you english slides
Oday Nasser Says:
December 11th, 2008 at 4:02 pm
20% in 2010
Facebook Germany Reaches More Than 1M Users, Gaining Ground on Competitor StudiVZ Says:
December 18th, 2008 at 11:44 am
[...] penetration in both Switzerland and France this year, with over 14% of the Swiss population and 10% of the French population, growth has been significant but more measured in neighboring Germany. During 2008, the number of [...]
Finance Geek » Zuckerberg: Facebook Revenue Growth ‘Really Strong’, Still Hiring Says:
January 12th, 2009 at 9:49 am
[...] might open a few more international offices this year in addition to those they’ve announced in France and Ireland. Mark says Facebook waits until they have “strong growth and millions of [...]
1 personne sur 10 en France sur Facebook | we are social en français Says:
January 13th, 2009 at 7:04 am
[...] Puissance mondiale ou pas, Facebook a clairement su se faire une place en France et est d’ailleurs sur le point de recruter des équipe commerciales pour le marché français. [...]