The future of social media is… CHANGING

Something that we can all agree is that social media is here to stay. I mean, its been 10 YEARS! In our western culture, we can say for sure that there are a top 5 of social media apps that brands should have a presence so they can leverage their audience.

Statistics:

Here are some really interesting statistics regarding social media usage as summarized by SmartInsights.com.

  • The number of internet users worldwide in 2019 is 4.388 billion, up 9.1% year-on-year.
  • The number of social media users worldwide in 2019 is 3.484 billion, up 9% year-on-year.
  • The number of mobile phone users in 2019 is 5.112 billion, up 2% year-on-year.

In short, social media is widely popular around the world and the people accessing social media through a mobile phone is increasing.

When it comes to the most popular social media networks, Facebook is still dominating the landscape worldwide, with Youtube a close second followed by Whatsapp, Facebook Messenger, WeChat and Instagram. As we know Whatsapp, Facebook Messanger and Instagram are part of the company Facebook, so it is a safe bet to say Facebook is dominating the social media realm.

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Note: These statistics are from 2015 and might not reflect numbers now.

I find it really interesting that despite the Cambridge Analytica scandal, Facebook still has dominance over the social media landscape. According to Pew Research, as much as 40 percent of U.S. users have taken a break from checking their account. Facebook has suffered some losses, but overall is still dominating social media.

Mental Health Concerns

In the last couple of months, we have seen growing concern about the effects of social media in users mental health. Studies have found that excessive use of social media can generate “Facebook depression.” It’s like that pang of envy seeing an old college friend making those amazing trips or getting that new promotion.

Another mental health concern that is closely related to Facebook depression is FOMO or Fear of Missing Out. In the psychiatric industry, FOMO has become an addiction, we fear missing out on something better that’s going on without us.

Future Implications…

So what does all of this means for brands?

  1. Become mobile: The future of social media is even more mobile than before, so if your brand is not 100% optimized for mobile, your brand might not reach many users.
  2. Take advantage of Facebook NOW: As GaryVee says, social media advertising is ridiculously underpriced, but this might not be the case for long. Social media is in a maturing stage which means that it is established so they can start experimenting with price changes since the audience has demonstrated that it will still be there. Almost 42 percent of the world’s population has at least one social media account, according to new reports from We Are Social and Hootsuite.
  3. Be niche: No business can afford to target everybody. The more specific the target audience the better for any business. This goes back to human behavior theory, we all want to be part of something, your brand should become part of the niche not try to impose itself.
  4. Be personal: We connect with people, not things. Consumers need to know there is a person listening and engaging them at every touch point.
  5. Be proactive: With all the mental health concerns regarding social media, it is important for brands to be proactive and set rules and expectations for their community and follow through with them. It is important the consumers understand the cyberbullying is not something that will be tolerated in your community.

The best advice I can give to the ever-changing social media landscape is another great tip from GaryVee:

Resources:

Gorhol, J. (2018) FOMO Addiction: The Fear of Missing Out. Retrieved: May 8. 2019 from: https://psychcentral.com/blog/fomo-addiction-the-fear-of-missing-out/

Chaffey, D. (2019) Global social media research summary 2019. Retrieved: May 15, 2019 from: https://www.smartinsights.com/social-media-marketing/social-media-strategy/new-global-social-media-research/ 

Spencer, J. (2018) The Future of Social Media Platforms and Ways in Which Businesses Can Utilize Them. Retrieved: May 15, 2019 from: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/320510

 

Post pic credit: Photo by Tracy Le Blanc from Pexels