So, what’s new with social media? We already know that Instagram and Snapchat tend to draw younger, more college-aged crowds (Pew Research Center). We already know that Twitter usage is more skewed towards your average-young-working-professional (Pew Research Center). We also already know that higher social media usage is linked to depression, especially in young girls (The Guardian). To explore the most interesting and surprising data, one can start by looking at the most popular accounts on two major social media sites: Facebook and Instagram.
On Facebook’s social media network, the list of most popular pages includes sites like Facebook (the company itself), Samsung, Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid CF, Coca-Cola, FC Barcelona, or Shakira. Of these accounts, only two are individuals, the rest are companies or brands.
On Instagram, the most-liked accounts in the world include Instagram’s brand page, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ariana Grande, Selena Gomez, and Dwayne Johnson. Of these accounts, Instagram is the only technical brand, with the rest being individuals.
With this data we can note a difference in what people are looking for on each social media platform. One can consider the fact of there being more visual components of sharing on Instagram (a site that operates mostly in videos and images) as a reason for Instagram’s difference. The visual aspects of Instagram’s content production and posting would explain why its users are more likely to follow lifestyle accounts. However, in the list of top 50 accounts, the non-sports-club brands listed include National Geographic, Nike, and Victoria’s Secret.
The truth is that more than ever, people are getting information about the things and people they love from social media. As we can see from these interesting social media statistics, that doesn’t always mean following individuals though.
In fact, according to Forbes, almost 40 percent of users are following their favorite brands on social media (Forbes), most likely to keep up with promotions and newly released items. Another interesting find: 1 in 4 of those users are following brands on social media from which they might make a purchase (Forbes). This means that people follow brands and are often looking at pages with interest in purchasing the brand’s products.
In a study of 2,500 people worldwide by Streetbees discussed on Medium.com, it was found that 73% of those surveyed said that a social media presence is necessary for brands to be successful (Medium.com). For those who did follow brands on social media there were clear reasons as to why. Exclusive Offers/Discounts (75%), Interesting Content (65%) and Seeing the Brand’s Values (38%) ranked as the top three reasons to follow a brand for those social media site users over the age of 35 as well as for other age bands too (Medium.com).
These interesting statistics point to the fact that it is more crucial than ever to post interesting, engaging and quality posts on social media as a brand. After all, while people love to follow friends and family on social media networks, the networking part of the phenomena stretches beyond personal connection and into brand-consumer relations.
Sources:
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