Did you know that the average person spends about 7 hours per day on the internet? That is a 9% increase from 2020’s average, meaning we almost spend as much time online as we do sleeping.
Covid-19 affected communities around the world, forcing the majority of individuals to transition into the digital world. The recent Hootsuite Digital 2021 report revealed that now nearly 60%, 4.66 billion people, more than of the world’s population, is now online.
During this past year, Hootsuite, the online social media managing tool, has spotted some of the valuable changes in the digital consumer behavior, revealing key data of the internet, mobile, social, and eCommerce. This executive report shares the new growth in digital behaviors, mobile adoption, social usage, and online shopping.
Because of the increase of users worldwide, social media has become a spotlight for marketers. Companies recognize the importance of social media, leading many of them to increase their budgeting for social media marketing.
A CMO Survey shows, that social media spending has increased from 13.3% of marketing budgets in February 2020 to 23.2% in June 2020 — a 74% lift in only 4 months and this is a number that is expected to remain high throughout 2021.
Furthermore, Covid-19 drove people to move to shop and research both products and services online. More than 98% of online users also use at least one other social platform. Online sales increased by more than 40% in the past year, and 45% of internet users utilize social media to research both products and services. This is a habit that can be expected to continue even after the pandemic has passed.
This shows that social media has become a critical part of buyer consideration, especially with younger generations like Gen Z users, who say that they are more likely to search for brands on social over other search engines.
For brands, this means that a multichannel strategy does not need to include every single platform. In fact, having a presence on 1-2 of the larger platforms offers the most potential to reach almost all of the world’s social media users. And, to win over buyers they must turn product reviews, comments, and videos into inspirational social experiences.
Lastly, although it might come as a surprise, data shows that the baby boomers generation is one of the fastest-growing audience segments on both Facebook and Instagram. They tend to post an average of 10 times per month, showing high engagement on these platforms female Facebook users who are between 55-64 years old.
As a marketer, if your demographic is this age group, make sure to use Facebook as a source of customer intelligence to better target them.
In conclusion, power up your social media posts. This will help you obtain more traffic and engagement with Instagram, Pinterest, social videos, and new content formats. Build social listening into your strategy, this will you quickly understand what customers are saying, uncover new buyers, and protect your brand with real-time sentiment and alerts. And lastly, convert more customers with laser-targeted ads that are automatically optimized based on your pre-set budges to get more customers in the door.
Wondering how to ensure the success of your social media strategy? Set up a free consultation call with our CEO, Jenn, to talk about your particular situation and how to make your social media program deliver the results you need.