For entrepreneurs and analysis professionals, the social media panorama may be inspiring – and overwhelming. Social media statistics change so quickly it may be an actual problem maintaining. That’s not precisely preferrred for anybody hoping to make use of their social media knowhow to assist decision-making and take advantage of their finances.
If that sounds acquainted, assistance is at hand. Our international media panorama 2024 report and abstract of social media developments in 2024 are full of important insights. Now, to make your life even simpler, we’ve created this weblog masking 2024’s must-know social media statistics, supplying you with the insights it’s essential to outline technique, drive progress, and enhance ROI.
Listed below are the questions we’ll reply:
- What are the most well-liked social media platforms?
- What are folks utilizing social media for?
- Why is short-form video content material hotting up, massive time?
- What do youthful generations need from social media?
- How a lot is social media impacting psychological well being?
- What’s social media’s function in model discovery?
- Why is social media livestreaming so massive in APAC?
- Do social media customers actually belief influencers?
- Social media and the US election – what’s occurring?
- What social content material works finest on what channel?
1. What are the most well-liked social media platforms?
Let’s begin with some key social media statistics on the most well-liked platforms du jour.
There are clear winners within the race for social media world domination, and maybe not surprisingly they range by age.
Our information reveals Fb continues to be the worldwide chief for month-to-month engagement amongst millennials, Gen X, and child boomers. It even ranks in Gen Z’s high three platforms, dispelling the parable that youthful teams are ditching their accounts.
Speaking of Gen Z, in case you assume they spend all their time on TikTok, assume once more. It’s truly Gen Alpha who like TikTok most, with 22% saying it’s their favourite social media platform.
Gen Z do have a novel social media footprint, although. Instagram is each their most-used app, and the one they’re most probably to say they’ve talked about not too long ago in an actual life dialog – which leads properly to our subsequent level.
Reputation and energy aren’t fairly the identical factor, and types ought to think about which to prioritize when deciding their mixture of social channels.
Reputation will increase the probabilities of a model’s merchandise and messages being seen, whereas energy improves the probabilities of them being talked about by shoppers. Fortunately they’re not mutually unique. If manufacturers share compelling tales on social platforms that spark dialog and advice in the true world, they’re getting one of the best of each.
2. What are folks utilizing social media for?
Social media statistics present that the best way folks eat information is altering. Maybe surprisingly, extra shoppers say they observe information influencers than vogue equivalents, and there’s been an uptick in folks utilizing social platforms to maintain up with present occasions. It appears that evidently with belief within the mainstream media dwindling, persons are in search of info elsewhere.
Regardless of this, “staying in contact with family and friends” is the highest cause for utilizing social – proof that regardless of the blizzard of promoting content material flooding our feeds, the social facet of social media continues to be going robust. Past “staying in contact”, older teams are likely to observe information tales on social channels, with youthful teams extra concerned with busting boredom.
Earlier than we transfer on, let’s get particular and break all this down by technology.
3. Why is short-form video content material hotting up, massive time?
It goes with out saying that completely different content material works finest on completely different social channels – however the affect of short-form video throughout the worldwide media panorama has been huge. TikTok is lower than a decade outdated, but social media statistics present it competes in the identical leagues as Netflix and YouTube on the subject of month-to-month engagement.
Proper now, TikTok is the market chief for short-form content material, however positively isn’t the one participant on the town. Instagram and YouTube have taken benefit of their huge person bases to launch their very own short-form options, each of which have change into highly regarded.
The variety of Instagrammers utilizing Reels has grown by over 50% within the final three years.
And with a good few LinkedIn customers saying they watch movies on the app, evidently even the enterprise networking website is following go well with.
By way of matters, short-form video scores massive in sports activities, with highlights being the one fastest-growing content material sort within the US.
Whereas 2024’s Tremendous Bowl broke all types of reside TV viewing information, 25% of Gen Z and millennial viewers additionally saved up with the sport through updates on social media. And simply as quick clips have helped make some lesser-known music artists common, they’re additionally carving out a much bigger area for rising sports activities.
Social movies – usually film trailers – also needs to be on the movie trade’s radar. Trade leaders like The Boxoffice Community hope that by giving social scrollers some tasty snippets they’ll go to cinemas or stream from residence extra, and it appears to be working. In comparison with different US Instagram customers, those that watch Reels and film trailers on social media are 23% extra more likely to say they go to film theaters at the very least month-to-month.
4. What do youthful generations need from social media?
Gen Alpha are rising up, and with age comes company. Increasingly more Gen Alpha are saying they get a way of which manufacturers and merchandise they like from social media. In truth, there’s been an 11% year-on-year rise within the variety of teenagers who say discovering issues to purchase is one in all their essential causes for utilizing social.
Many manufacturers can be clever to start out chatting with and constructing bonds with Gen Alpha in the present day, however they should do it in a means that doesn’t threat damaging their repute. Lately the phenomena of “Sephora youngsters” noticed a barely worrying rise in youthful folks shopping for anti-aging serums and lotions designed for considerably older adults. This pattern has even pushed a Swedish pharmacy chain to start out ID’ing its skincare patrons.
Transferring up the age vary, Gen Z are driving a shift towards inspiration-seeking searches on social media – particularly on Pinterest. They’re massive into utilizing temper boards to collate their findings; 47% of Pinners say they use the app for fashion inspiration, virtually as many for residence décor/design concepts, and 18% for wedding ceremony/occasion inspo. These boards in the end give Gen Z shoppers what they need – freedom, personalization and a group they’ll belong to.
Manufacturers can reap the benefits of the recognition of temper boards, and create merchandise that match the trending vibe. For instance, in late 2023 – after noticing that Pinterest customers have been pinning photos of David and Victoria Beckham from the Nineties sporting saggy parachute pants – Jaded London launched a model of their very own, and have since offered over 200,000 pairs.
5. How a lot is social media impacting psychological well being?
Let’s not be coy; social media will get a nasty press for its supposed detrimental influence on psychological well being. However is that honest? Our analysis reveals that within the US, solely 13% say that’s truly the case.
Amongst those that do say it’s had a detrimental influence, the highest factor folks really feel is guilt about losing time scrolling (50%). That is adopted by feeling hopeless in regards to the state of the world (47%) and elevated emotions of hysteria (43%).
However from a world perspective, social media statistics present extra folks assume social media is nice for society (37%).
The variety of shoppers who say social media causes them anxiousness is down 11% since 2021.
With extra folks utilizing social media as a solution to discover the world, whether or not that’s maintaining with the information, discovering merchandise to purchase, or being entertained, social platforms may work on their algorithms to steadiness the publicity of detrimental information with extra constructive, uplifting tales.
6. What’s social media’s function in model discovery?
Engines like google are most likely the primary device you consider for product or model discovery. Whereas which may have been true as soon as, social media statistics present that discovery journeys have modified.
Discovering new concepts or inspiration has change into a extra necessary cause for utilizing social media. Gen Z specifically just like the custom-made outcomes they get on social platforms.
Right now, extra shoppers uncover merchandise through advertisements on social media, updates on a model’s social pages, or social media suggestions, than through search engines like google and yahoo. When mixed, these strategies have lots of affect, to the extent that social media has change into a form of “pseudo search engine” for model discovery.
It’s not laborious to see why; utilizing social, folks can uncover, analysis, share, and purchase multi functional place. Over 50% of shoppers who’ve purchased an merchandise on TikTok Store say they bought from a model or vendor they found utilizing it.
The purpose is, manufacturers ought to purpose to create visually partaking content material that evokes their audience to discover, with these in sure sectors standing to profit from social media’s more and more refined ecommerce instruments.
7. Why is social media livestreaming so massive in APAC?
Most social media platforms provide livestreaming, with over 20% of social media customers worldwide saying it’s their essential cause for logging on. However APAC markets take curiosity in livestreaming to a complete new stage.
One cause is likely to be that APAC shoppers are used to doing many day-to-day duties on their smartphones. They’re extra probably than the common international client to make use of them to order groceries, ship cash, and even take health lessons, so it’s no massive shock additionally they work together with influencers and types through livestreams, and are big followers of reside procuring.
Customers in APAC are 51% extra probably than the worldwide common to have purchased one thing throughout a reside procuring occasion.
For a lot of manufacturers, reside procuring yields particularly excessive ROI as a result of it’s a sociable expertise that fosters emotions of inclusivity and involvement, which might translate into increased gross sales. APAC social media buyers are additionally extra more likely to advocate on-line for manufacturers that provide reside procuring experiences
The lesson is obvious: APAC-based manufacturers – and worldwide manufacturers with clients on this area – ought to hold their shoppers’ urge for food for livestreaming front-of-mind, whereas Western manufacturers contemplating this know-how ought to look to APAC’s success for finest follow ideas.
8. Do social media customers actually belief influencers?
A latest Hubspot survey revealed that fifty% of entrepreneurs who collaborate with influencers plan to spice up their investments in 2024. However is the juice definitely worth the squeeze?
Whereas there was a small climb within the variety of social media customers saying they observe influencers means again in 2020-21 (truly +6%), social media statistics have stayed fairly constant ever since, an indication that progress isn’t growing on the charge of marketer investments.
That stated, some markets are nonetheless seeing larger and newer jumps in influencer engagement. The proportion of social media customers following influencers in nations just like the US, Eire, and South Korea has hit or handed the 25% mark, a powerful milestone.
Influencer followers are an viewers with lots of buy intent. They’re 45% extra more likely to say they use social networks to seek out merchandise to purchase than the common social media person, and 24% extra more likely to have truly purchased a services or products on-line within the final week.
Additionally, whereas youthful generations are the most probably to observe influencers, the variety of child boomers who say they do is rising quicker.
The variety of child boomers who observe influencers has climbed 17% since This autumn 2022.
However how highly effective is influencer advertising and marketing actually? The reply is likely to be stunning for anybody who assumes influencers rule the roost. Globally, simply 13% of shoppers say “influencer suggestions” are the factor that will most enhance their chance of shopping for a product on-line, in comparison with 40% who say “reductions”.
This implies influencer advertising and marketing ought to typically be a complement to a model’s gross sales and advertising and marketing technique, not the principle occasion, and that it needs to be approached strategically. Given the present economic system, maybe it’s not too stunning that worth/worth are the highest motivators quite than influencer protection.
On the identical time, 84% who purchase from influencers say they keep away from utilizing their affiliate hyperlinks at the very least a few of the time and like visiting a model’s official web site. Providing a reduction code customized to the influencer can assist incentivize direct purchases, and positively helps manufacturers monitor ROI on their influencer funding, however once more the facility of influencers over real-world buy habits is decrease than the hype would recommend.
However let’s say you’ve determined to check out an influencer anyway. With extra Gen Zers figuring out as influencers/creators than healthcare employees, the expertise pool for manufacturers to choose from is large. The precise alternative will rely on finances, providing, and objectives.
To evaluate all this it’s a good suggestion for manufacturers to create an general scorecard for every influencer they’re contemplating, measuring issues like their engagement metrics and the consistency of their messaging, not simply their follower depend.
Not surprisingly, influencer influence varies by sector. Regardless of being low-investment gadgets, shopping for haircare, skincare, and make-up are the place influencer trustworthiness issues most. However even right here, influencer influence has its limits, rating third behind “worth for cash” and “model repute” amongst all influencer-driven patrons.
9. Social media and the US election – what’s occurring?
We’ve already talked about the rise of individuals consuming information on social, however let’s flip our consideration to the 2024 US presidential election that’s quick approaching. With extra Individuals turning to social media – particularly short-form movies – to maintain up with the information, this election cycle guarantees to be like no different.
50% of US Gen Z and millennials have consumed info on US politics on social media within the final month.
You could have observed a rising skepticism towards politics generally, one thing the emergence of generative AI isn’t serving to. Deepfake photographs and calls have already reared their ugly head on this election cycle, so it’s no marvel social media statistics present that over half of American shoppers have some concern over AI’s influence on each election campaigns and information tales.
No marvel then, that there’s been a 26% drop in US shoppers who say they belief the media fully/rather a lot since 2020. Issues round misinformation are likely to rise earlier than each election. However, US publishers and content material creators have a possibility to achieve new followers and increase loyalty within the months forward utilizing a few of the strategies we outlined in our 2024 client developments report, Connecting the dots.
So, what precisely can they do?
A 3rd of Individuals who eat political content material on social media say they’d interact extra if there was third-party verification of claims. They don’t thoughts concepts that problem their beliefs – some actively search it – however they do need clear, correct, and verifiable content material as they scroll their means by means of this election cycle. And who can blame them?
10. What social content material works finest on what channel?
It’s necessary to recollect every app has its personal distinctive tradition and viewers expectations. Social media statistics present it’s not a good suggestion to submit the identical stuff in every single place. As an alternative, manufacturers ought to tweak content material to replicate the expectations of every viewers.
For instance, LinkedIn customers need content material that’s revolutionary, unique, and daring. They don’t need routine posts that lack a transparent voice – they need to see compelling thought management. Manufacturers utilizing LinkedIn to advertise themselves have to bear this in thoughts, maybe by sharing insights that few are conscious of, or providing a recent perspective on a well-recognized matter.
On X (previously Twitter, as in case you didn’t know), manufacturers presenting themselves as fashionable do properly, nevertheless it’s a barely completely different story over on Reddit. Whereas their customers nonetheless crave daring content material, what they actually need is for manufacturers to be genuine. Redditors downvote any advertising and marketing posts that really feel misplaced, so manufacturers ought to give attention to creating content material for a particular subcommunity, quite than utilizing the app as a discussion board for present content material.
The purpose is every platform has its personal tradition and viewers expectations. Manufacturers want to make use of the newest social media statistics to grasp these nuances and tailor their content material to go well with every area. Repurpose content material by all means, nevertheless it’s important to take the time to fine-tune it. That’s the important thing to knocking your social media technique out of the park.
