How has social media changed in the last five years?

The world that we live in today is one where Facebook alone – as one of the most popular social media platforms ever – has over 1.65 billion active users every month. It’s a marvel which has had – and continues to have – a remarkable effect on both casual users as well as businesses alike.

Five years ago, social media networking was just starting with its meteoric rise. As the owner of an organisation, you were almost certainly on social media personally. However, perhaps you could see little ROI in terms of creating a presence for your company. Social media marketing was the furthermost thing from your mind. These networks were just a way for you to connect with old classmates, friends as well as family.

Fast forward to 2019 and now your company’s social media presence is the hub of engagement with your customers, prospects as well as partners. For the everyday user, social media has become your information hub in addition to your communication vehicle.

The ubiquity of social media

Social media platforms are utilised by one-in-three people globally. More than two-thirds of all Internet users make use of one type of network or another.

Platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube have changed the world and the way we do marketing as it has introduced the concept of social media marketing. The rapid, as well as widespread adoption of these technologies, is altering how:

• We source partners,
• Access information and consume the news, and
• Organise in order to demand political change.

Social media is more prevalent than TV

Every year, there is more and more time that is being spent on social media. This time has increased so much that the time spent on YouTube and Facebook is more than people now spend watching TV. The average internet user, says GlobalWebIndex, spend about 15 minutes longer each day on social platforms as opposed to watching TV. A higher proportion of people are using Facebook daily (50%) as opposed to watching TV (39%). There is an even more significant gap that is seen among Millennials (54% vs 33%).

What does this mean?

Very simply, this means that TV, as well as  traditional media, no longer offer the most comprehensive or most efficient reach for marketers. Thus social media marketing is vital for every single business out there because with the number of social platforms, and the vast audiences that they have, your target audience will undoubtedly be on social media.

What does ‘social media marketing’ actually mean?

The term ‘social media marketing’ is about using social media platforms in order to connect with your audience. The objective of this type of marketing is to:

• Build your brand,
• Increase sales, as well as
• Drive website traffic.

The above-three objectives involve publishing fantastic content onto your social media profiles, listening to – as well as engaging – your followers, analysing your results in addition to running social media advertisements.

At the moment, the major social media platforms are Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, YouTube, and Snapchat. Besides, there is also a range of social media management tools that assist companies with getting the most that they can out of the social media platforms. For example, Buffer and Hootsuite are both platforms that can help you to manage your social media marketing presence effectively.

The shift in social behaviour presents some opportunities for brands and digital marketers. With less content being created, but more content being consumed, brands can fill the gap. These changes pave the way for new rules as well as ways of interaction for brands, media companies in addition to consumers alike.

Although social media users are becoming less ‘active’, brands can at least be sure that users are scrolling through content and seeing their brand online. It’s crucial for them to adjust to the changing landscape and consider the new, evolved opportunities for interaction that have arisen. Want to discover more about social media marketing? The best way to do this is by doing a Social Media Marketing Course such as the one we offer.

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