Social Media Usage Is Surging—How Should Your Brand Respond?
Amid ongoing disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic, many Americans are spending more time than ever on social media. While the long-term implications of this trend remain unclear, early data indicates that as many as 51% of U.S. adults are accessing social media at higher rates than they did pre-pandemic.
“This year, U.S. adult social network users will spend seven more minutes per day on social networks than in 2019,” writes eMarketer. “Instagram and Snapchat will benefit the most, and Facebook will see the smallest boost. But time spent will start declining again in 2021 as the pandemic boost wears off.”
The prediction of a decline in usage in 2021 bears discussion. As life slowly returns to normal, these eye-catching increases may not be sustained. The salient point is that your social media strategy must be trend agnostic—the pandemic simply presents an opportunity to shore up the fundamentals of your strategy. A better-engaged audience means greater opportunities to demonstrate and reinforce your purpose, as well as strengthen the bonds of brand loyalty.
As a first step, revisit your social media goals and ensure they align with concrete business objectives—is your primary social media strategy to grow awareness, to drive sales or to foster advocacy and retention? This will help you identify relevant metrics to gauge the success of your initiative—and inspire future improvements. As you consider your social media strategy moving forward, what steps will you take to deliver the best brand experience possible to your audience?
To learn more about this topic or to discuss an issue impacting your business, contact Bailey’s Vice President of Client Services, Jamie Gailewicz, at 610-818-3103 or click here to contact us via [email protected]
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