Everyone is aware of the stay-at-home lifestyle we had to adopt at the start of the year due to the outbreak of the global pandemic. It therefore comes to no surprise that our daily routines changed, including our social media routine. Social media usage has changed by businesses, creators, viewers and many more factors. Social media advertising has already taken a hit and is predicted to decrease by 69% in ad spending. This is interesting to note because it doesn’t quite make sense in the aspect that more people are said to be using social media to therefore companies and industries should be focusing their money on features like ad spending. Kantar media commenced research into the social media usage over the course of the pandemic and published that it has risen by 61%. So who is using this media and how?
A generation of creators:
Since the beginning of the pandemic 2 in 10 people would upload content due to the start of lockdown. Five months down the line and three in 10 people now created and make content on a routine basis, because of the pandemic. This is not surprising considering the rise in users for sites such as TikTok, which now has 850 million monthly users. The Global Web Index commenced research which showed that currently levels are beginning to stabilize after the initial spike. However, 43% of people said they are continuing to use it at the same capacity as they have been for the last several months but only 19% predict that they will continue to use it this much regardless of what happens with new restrictions.
There were four main reasons why we use social media:
- To fill up spare time
- To find funny or entertaining content
- To stay up to date with news and current events
- To stay in touch with what family and friends are doing
This is different for each generation and as most generations have been increasing their use of social media, the results are even more plausible. Generation X and baby boomers have very similar trends. One significant trend is that for the millennials, generation X and baby boomers, their third reasons are all to fill up their spare time which averaged around 30% of people suggesting this. This is different for generation Z because their top reason is to fill up their spare time which is what 41% of the survey said.
In an interview with Chandni who runs @soyouwanttobeajournalist, explains that she took the opportunity to expand her ideas in lockdown and it has been the time she has been ‘really active’. She explained that ‘there has been no real difference as I took to social media platforms during lockdown’, this suggests that the reason she went from having very few to start with to having lots of followers is because many people were online using social media at the initial look down. Starting up at the start of lockdown helped her establish her site as people were using more social media as everything was shut. “It will be interesting to see if things do change, such as my followers and engagement rate, when things open up again”, which is true because in these recent studies there has been no prediction of whether or not social media usage and engagement rates will increase or decrease. She explains that personally ‘I’ve definitely been more active on social media, being at home all the time it’s just an easy way to pass time’. This is unsurprising as it is mentioned in nearly all the studies regarding social media usage. People were bored, and social and digital networks were the easiest way to keep in contact with people who we couldn’t see. Additionally, she mentioned that as she chose the topic of journalism, lockdown didn’t ‘affect the posts [she] uploaded, but I think I do have less to post as I am not able to go out’. Picking a niche helped her as she was able to specialise in content but as her content does require interviews and up to date news.
The industries:
We have all suffered in different ways throughout this struggling time, whether it be because of health, finance or even our mental stability. However, one sector that cannot hide from suffering is the industries that are struggling to keep afloat during this time of uncertainty. It is obvious now that with everyone being required to keep indoors, that highstreets and shopping centres were bound to take a big hit from this action. As many shops such as; Oasis, Topshop and Debenhams, risk losing numerous shops and even potentially becoming bust, their presence on digital marketing has never been more crucial. Sprout Social commenced coronavirus data research which highlighted the fact that healthcare and media industries have increased the number of posts they were sharing per day, while industries such as travel and sports have been identified as decreasing continuously. More companies are being required to start utilising their online presence, an example of a brand which has not adapted is Primark. Despite having a website, they will not allow customers to purchase online which meant in the original 4 months lockdown their finance got hit hard, they went from making £650 million a month to nothing during the first wave of lockdown.
The social media frenzy! 