Not every industry has been devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic; in fact, some are flourishing. Last week, social media management platform HootSuite released a report showing that ‘more than half the world’s population now uses social media.’ The finding has clear implications for any digital marketing professionals still wary of social advertising.
“As expected, the data confirms that we’ve seen huge shifts in social and digital behaviour since COVID-19 lockdowns started around the world,” said Hoostuite CEO Tom Keiser in a release. “Social media and messenger use has skyrocketed and even digital advertising has been forced to become more adaptive and agile. The challenge organizations – from business to nonprofits to government agencies to healthcare organizations – face today is how to manage all of these rapid shifts. Organizations need a holistic approach to managing their social and digital communications to remain connected while also listening to the changing social conversations to help ensure they are purposefully engaging with their audience.”
According to the report, 3.96 billion people currently use some form of social media, roughly 51 per cent of the global population. The report also notes that most platforms restrict access to people over the age of 13; approximately 65 per cent of world’s 13-and-over population is on social media.
Of course, record-high usage doesn’t necessarily translate to record-high approval. As we’ve mentioned in previous blurbs, social media platforms – particularly Facebook – are facing widespread backlash for their failures to limit hate speech and misinformation. If the platforms are unable to improve their reputations, the new user peak may not be sustainable.
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