TAKING STOCK OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Dona Senara explores the latest global trends surrounding digital platforms

There are more than 4.7 billion social media users worldwide at present, which is slightly less than 60 percent of the global population. However, strategy consultancy Kepios claims that social media growth has slowed in recent months despite a net influx of 137 million new users so far this year.

Notably, the average daily time spent on social media has levelled off or fallen across most regions since the height of COVID-19, except in North America where usage continues to climb.

As a result, managing market variances is critical for businesses to keep abreast of consumer views.

North Americans mainly use platforms to stay in touch, share information on their lives and pass the time. Watching live broadcasts is the most common motivator in the Asia-Pacific region while for Latin Americans, it’s about finding products.

Furthermore, the way consumers perceive social media and interact with certain platforms is also changing.

Market research company GWI states that the number of Western TikTokers who use the site to stay updated on news has increased by 41 percent over two years while individuals using it to learn about products and brands has grown by 52 percent.

Based on their market tracking data, time spent daily on social media by users has reduced since the first quarter of last year – this is the second time that global usage has fallen year on year since measuring began in 2012. The average daily usage in the first quarter of this year is also below that of 2019.

GWI observes more pronounced swings in emerging regions such as the Middle East and Africa although no other region’s daily use has shifted by over six minutes in either direction in any particular wave over the past three years. North America is the only difference with consumption increasing.

The major message for brands and organisations is that the shifts are less about how much time online consumers spend on social media, and more about how and where they choose to spend their time.

According to GWI, Gen Z spends more time on social media (an average of two hours and 51 minutes daily) than any other generation in every region. But some Gen Zs want to spend less time online and more in the real world.

As shown by GWI’s social media by generation data for this year, Generation Z is 30 percent more likely to be concerned about the amount of time they spend on social media and these concerns are converting into actual behaviour.

Furthermore, it is the only generation that has spent less time on social media since the first quarter of 2021. Platforms are well aware of this and provide users with information about their time spent online or urge them to take breaks. Even TikTok reminds users to snooze.

To date, Facebook is the most extensively used app in the world and has a strong following among younger consumers. According to GWI, WhatsApp is the world’s second largest platform and its favourite.

TikTok’s rise shows no sign of abating. And the number of consumers who say it’s their favourite app has more than doubled in the past two years.

Recently, the number of people watching videos on social media has also increased. Similarly, other audio formats are gaining steam with Gen Z increasingly using voice notes.

It’s believed that social video generates 1,200 percent more shares than text and images combined. Furthermore, it enables brands to inject more personality and experiment with their content.

Therefore, marketers must master the language of short form videos, and work towards capturing the attention of Gens Z and Alpha. And the creative assets must be interesting, relatable, consumable and most importantly, authentic.