Our online user behavior has increased significantly compared to 2019. We had to be in a more isolated environment and in many cases we have had to work from a distance from home and adapt more digitally than before.
According to surveys conducted by WeAreSocial and Hootsuite, we spend an average of 6.5 hours online, of which 3-4 hours via mobile. 47% of the users stated that they have increased their online presence and as many as 70% stated that their presence on social media has increased. We have now reached a historic milestone, where 51% of the world’s population are active users of social media and the average for a daily use of social media is 2-2.5 hours.
However, yet only 13% of the global marketing budget is invested in social media, according to Zenith’s Advertising Expenditure Forecasts. And for advertisers, the pandemic has actually given new conditions, which can be noticed through an increase in reach among advertisers. We can also compare with last year’s Q2 and see that the CPC is 23% lower. These are interesting figures that should be taken into account now that we are moving towards the last quarter, in many cases the most important quarter for many companies.
Conditions
We can state that the digital adaptation that has taken place and human behavior has changed in the suites of the pandemic. Because even though COVID-19 has hit many industries very hard, at the same time several industries have been successful.
When people have been forced into a more isolated environment at home, creativity has increased and thus new interests have bloomed. Among other things, we have seen an increase in the iron and construction trade by + 20%, sports and leisure by + 11% and home furnishings + 10%, according to figures by the trade association Svensk Handel compiled by Statistiska Centralbyrån during the second quarter of 2020. These interests are not only a fly that will pass – newfound interests will increase buying behavior in the segments and people will continue to wish for things regarding their new interests, for example, Christmas presents.
So. We have clear indications of different target groups that have increased or decreased their buying behavior. With that said, it is important to be aware of new behaviors and break new ground in order to expand your market.
And best of all – we no longer have to rely on coincidences when we market online, let the data and insights about your target audiences guide your next campaign:
Global active social media users per month
- INSTAGRAM 1.08 billions
- FACEBOOK 2.6 billions
- PINTEREST 367 millions
- SNAPCHAT 397 millions
- YOUTUBE 2 billions
- TWITTER 326 millions
- LINKEDIN 702 millions
- TIKTOK 800 millions
So what’s new and what opportunities does social media give us?
As we mentioned earlier, the use of social media has increased as well as our buying behavior. Instagram has succeeded in bringing us marketers closer to the customer in a more open and authentic way. Through their new e-commerce feature Live Shopping, brands that are US-based and already have access to Instagram Checkout can now market their products live. This means that selected products are displayed at the bottom of the account’s live broadcast, so viewers can easily tap to view the product and complete the purchase directly on Instagram.
TikTok
With its rapid growth, TikTok is a leading platform among the rest of our social platforms. With an average of 800 million active users per month, companies should review this platform as part of their market mix. TikTok is relatively new and the advertising opportunities thereafter. TikTok is a perfect platform if we want to search for trends and get a greater insight into the target audience’s behavior and interests.
Advertising via TikTok is limited, but it is only a matter of time before we see a more developed advertising tool for the platform. We can create advertising accounts for Sweden through TikTok but with restrictions. For example, we can not advertise via self-service tools such as Facebook Ads manager. However, this does not prevent us from the opportunity to actually advertise and reach out to the large mass that TikTok provides through an so-called Insertion Order (IO).
TikTok for Business currently offers five different advertising options:
Facebook has made it easier for companies to sell their products through their new feature Facebook Shops. This means that you should be able to set up your online store directly in the app. With its 2.6 billion active users per month, it is a given for companies to be able to sell their products on the platform. This leads us to another new function, Facebook Pay, which together with the previous function creates a seamless experience for the customer.
A platform that should not be underestimated, with their 367 million active users per month, there are plenty of people to reach out to. Pinterest is a perfect platform for retail, where the commitment to interior design is great. Pinterest uses product data from your data source to display relevant products for interested Pinners on all Pinterest surfaces. This means you don’t need to set any additional targeting for Shopping ads.
Something that can increase companies’ sales but most of all reach the right target audience is the Dynamic Ads function. This function helps you reach Pinners who have already visited your website or who have non-purchased items in their shopping cart by targeting exact or similar products to those who get involved when they surf on Pinterest.
The biggest news is that you can now take a photo with your camera and then get similar products on Pinterest. This feature is called Shop Tab, this makes it easier for the customer to reach what they are actually looking for. A feature that will surely be seen on several platforms in the near future.
Snapchat
Together with Shopify, Snapchat has made it easier for companies to use Dynamic Ads. A development where we see a more seamless experience for the customer, also where companies can reach their specific target audiences through the dynamic product placement.
One feature that is under development is Brand Profiles. Companies should soon, for the first time in history, be able to create their own profiles on Snapchat. As I said, this is under development, but the launch of this feature may start at the end of the year.
Four main components of a Brand Profile:
- AR Lenses: Brands can save and showcase Lenses on their profile, allowing any Snapchatter to discover and/or revisit a brand’s unique AR experiences. These Lenses will be discoverable through both Snapchat Search and Lens Explorer.
- Native Store: Profiles may include a Native Store experience that enables Snapchatters to seamlessly browse and purchase items directly within the Snapchat app powered by Shopify. (Checkout the Spectacles Brand Profile to see the native store experience.)
- Highlights: With Highlights, brands can showcase collections of their best Public Snaps, Stories, photos, and videos right on their profile — permanently! This is the best way for Snapchatters who aren’t familiar with a brand to get to know who they are.
- Story posts: With their Public Story, brands can share what’s happening in their world with Snapchatters everywhere — from behind the scenes to daily activities — your Story is your daily point of view.
Youtube
One of the leading platforms with its breathtaking 2 billion active users per month launches for the first time an analysis tool for measuring actual return on investment (ROI).
The tool Youtube has developed is called Brand Connect. Which makes it possible to measure the impact of your creators (or so-called influencers) in both brand awareness and sales in relation to the creators’ reach and exposure through the platform. Some of the metrics you will be able to follow are:
- Brand Interest Lift
- Brand Influencer Lift
- Organic View-Through Conversions
No groundbreaking news about this platform, but something you should know, is that you can clone target audiences, based on other accounts. If you do not have that much data, this is a really smart way to get target audiences based on similar services or interests. Retargeting on Twitter is also something that some do not know much about. Twitter uses retargeting through engagement on the site but also posted tweets. Twitter is a perfect platform to increase brand awareness and together with similar target audiences you can get closer to an actual lead.
LinkedIn has taken the market’s needs seriously and chosen to expand the reach of their ads. The new function allows you to re-advertise on previous engagements and makes it easier to drive the entire customer journey on the platform. This in itself creates conditions for companies to get closer to a sale, which was previously not as easy on Linkedin.
Remember!
To review your market mix, put the money where your target audience is. Do not go on gut feeling, let the data make your choice and get the most accurate information about your target audiences. It is important to make a careful analysis of your target audience and its behavior. Could it be that your previous target audience has changed their behaviour and moved on to a new platform, then it is extra interesting to break new ground on that particular platform.
You should not be ashamed to imitate your competitors, in some cases it is enough to twist a small share of your competitors’ market to succeed. What are they doing right, review it properly and do a competitor analysis. As we mentioned earlier, Twitter has a function where you can reach other companies’ target audiences, a perfect way to build a target group when you do not have much data to go on.
It is important to keep up with the turns, get to know your target audience. Go to the different platforms and become comfortable with how they work. Learn how your target audience behaves on the platform, it will be one of the most valuable insights you will bring with you.
Trends come and go, but we hope that you have gained new insights on how to act for the coming period. Do you want to know more about how to set up the best possible strategy?
Watch our webinar “Digital trends & strategy 2021” here 🥳
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