Facebook is beginning to dominate. If you listened to the press, you would think that Twitter was handily holding the market’s share but pay closer attention and you’ll note that Facebook has quietly and quickly become a monster. Not only for business marketing options – but in sheer traffic numbers.

Story #1: Facebook Surpasses Google As Number One U.S. Site

HitWise is reporting that for the week ending March 13, Facebook overtook Google in getting the most US visits. Facebook also reached the top spot for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, when people log on to send best wishes to relatives. Previously, we suggested that the next time Facebook took the number one spot, it would be permanent and if the Hitwise data is accurate, this could be a sustained lead.

Facebook was also #1 for the weekend of March 6th and 7th, demonstrating that they are steadily climbing in terms of total number of page views and visitors – and their rate of growth is something Google is most certainly afraid of. The share of visits to Facebook.com for this week has increased 185% over the same week last year, while Google increased only 9% in the same time. Facebook and Google accounted for 14% of all US internet visits last week.

Shown below is a graph provided by HitWise which demonstrates Facebook’s meteoric rise in visits over the last year. With over 400 million users and growing, Facebook is quickly becoming the prime destination for many users. While Google is used for search, Facebook is the primary tool used to communicate with friends, and perhaps more interestingly, to play games.

Story #2: Most brand followers report increased purchase intent

Social media marketers looking for an indication that their efforts are helping the bottom line will be encouraged by findings from Chadwick Martin Bailey and iModerate that social friends and followers feel more inclined to purchase from the brands they are already fans of.

More than one-half of Facebook fans say they are more likely to make a purchase for at least a few brands, and 67% of Twitter followers reported the same.

The power of earned media gives a further boost to brands: 60% of respondents claimed their Facebook fandom increased the chance they would recommend a brand to a friend. Among Twitter followers, that proportion rose to nearly eight in 10.

The researchers also explored why social media users become brand fans. The top reason to friend a brand on Facebook was to receive discounts, followed by simply being a customer of the company and a desire to show others that they support the brand. On Twitter, discounts, up-to-the-minute information and exclusive content were the main draws; only 2% of respondents followed brands on Twitter to show their support.

The findings are largely in line with previous research about what social followers want, but the results changed when Chadwick Martin Bailey asked respondents about why they had first decided to follow brands and allowed them to choose as many reasons as they liked.

Among Facebook fans, the top reasons were being a customer (49%) and to show support (42%), with discounts and promotions coming in third (40%). Another 34% simply said it was fun and entertaining to become a fan. On Twitter, being a customer won out (51%), with discounts (44%) and fun (42%) rounding out the top three.