According to a soon-to-be-released Chief Marketer survey, 65 percent of marketers ranked social media as a marketing tactic they plan to rely on more in 2020 and beyond. Moreover, it was the highest-ranked tactic chosen by marketers during COVID-19, indicating that businesses are relying more heavily on social media platforms to communicate to target audiences.
Increased social media use is a global phenomenon. According to Hootsuite and We Are Social’s July 2020 Stat Shot report, 51 percent of the world are active social media users, up 10.5 percent from last year. And 44 percent of internet users aged 16 to 64 say they’ve spent more time on social media due to COVID-19, with 18 percent expecting these behaviors to continue after the COVID-19 crisis has ended.
Following are additional useful insights for social media marketers from the report:
*64 percent of 16 to 64-year-olds surveyed globally are worried about how brands use their personal data. That number increases to 67 percent when considering just the U.S.
*When it comes to brand research, social networks are now the top choice among internet users aged 16 to 24, eclipsing search engines. Younger women in particular are likely to turn to social media to research a brand: 50 percent of women versus 45 percent of men say they use social platforms for brand research.
*82 percent of worldwide respondents use digital media to access news content, with 55 percent saying they use social media to get news. In the U.S., 48 percent use social media to access news content. Drilling down further, 67 percent of respondents aged 18 to 24 years old use social media in that capacity and 63 percent of 25 to 34-year-olds. Just 47 percent of those aged 55 and older do so.
*In terms of social platforms, news content is consumed worldwide most often on Facebook (46 percent), YouTube (27 percent) and WhatsApp (20 percent). Those three platforms rank the highest for usage as well.
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