Table of Contents
Executive Summary
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- Top takeaways
- Market overview
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- Figure 1: Daily users of social media platforms, 2019-21
- Impact of COVID-19 on social media
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- Figure 2: Short-, medium- and long-term impact of COVID-19 on social media, May 2021
- Opportunities and challenges
- Users are spreading their interests across platforms
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- Figure 3: Daily use of social media platforms and social media platforms used most frequently, February 2021
- Spreading the word is an important part of social media use
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- Figure 4: Social media interactions, February 2021
- Social media is the marketplace
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- Figure 5: Brand interactions on social media, February 2021
- A more active role for platforms is necessary to connect people
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- Figure 6: Attitudes toward the role of social media companies, February 2021
- Authenticity may turn some fans away
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- Figure 7: Cancel culture behaviors, by age, February 2021
The Market – Key Takeaways
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- Social media advertising weathered the pandemic
- Most platforms saw audience growth in 2020
- A new generation of social media users takes hold
Market Size
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- Advertising in 2020 started as a bust but ended with a bang
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- Figure 8: Social media advertising revenue, 2019-20
- Sponsored posts take a hit
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- Figure 9: Number of sponsored posts, 2016-20
- Impact of COVID-19 on social media
- Immediate impacts (2020)
- Short term (2021)
- Recovery (2022-25)
- Learnings from the Great Recession
- The death of MySpace and blogging
- Facebook, Twitter took off during economic downturn
Platform Use
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- Most platforms are either growing or stable
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- Figure 10: Daily users of social media platforms, 2019-21
- Highlights for growing platforms
- YouTube
- TikTok
Market Factors
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- Young population firmly establishes social media as standard
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- Figure 11: Population by age, 2016-26
- Figure 12: Use of social media compared to previous year, by age, February 2021
- Teens bring social media into their lives
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- Figure 13: Social media activities of teens, February 2020
- 5G will strengthen live video quality
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- Figure 14: Interest in 5G smartphones and networks, December 2020
- Social media companies take stronger stance on content moderation
- Organizing activists is tied to social media
Companies and Brands – Key Takeaways
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- Platforms find ways make users and creators happy
- Building out new content features is important
Competitive Strategies
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- Supporting creators on platforms
- Tying in other products to create an ecosystem
- Implementing watchdogs for content moderation
- Social networks take a stand
- Emphasizing positive communication to bring in exhausted users
Market Opportunities
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- Clubhouse opens up future opportunities for live audio
- Building out interactive live entertainment
- A new focus on short content
- Improving shoppable features to direct consumers
- Partnering with brands to give back
The Consumer – Key Takeaways
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- Preferred platforms are also the most popular
- Users look favorably on platforms they understand
- Likes are just as likely as looks
- Toxic interactions can be loud, but encouragement quiets them
- Social media has become an effective marketplace
- Users are willing to cut accounts that don’t align with their values
- People still connect to influencers, but maybe not as much
- Social media companies will need to take an active role in what’s on their sites to build trust
Preferred Social Media Platforms
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- Nearly half of adults visit at least three social media sites daily
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- Figure 15: Repertoire of daily social media users, February 2021
- Facebook is the most frequent stop for many of its users
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- Figure 16: Daily use of social media platforms and social media platforms used most frequently, February 2021
- Women frequent discovery sites, while men look for entertainment
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- Figure 17: Social media platforms used most frequently – Any rank, by gender, February 2021
- Older adults frequent sites for connection and inspiration…
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- Figure 18: Informative social media platforms used most frequently – Any rank, by age, February 2021
- …while younger users are inspired by influencer culture
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- Figure 19: Entertainment social media platforms used most frequently – Any rank, by age, February 2021
Perceptions of Social Media Platforms
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- The positive
- The negative
- The confusing
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- Figure 20: Correspondence analysis – Symmetrical map – Perceptions of platforms, February 2021
How People Use Social Media
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- Users are more likely to make their voices heard than be passive observers
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- Figure 21: Social media interactions, February 2021
- Women encourage others through social media interactions
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- Figure 22: Social media interactions, by gender, February 2021
- Young adults seek new ways to view content
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- Figure 23: Social media viewing, by age, February 2021
- Parents of young children gravitate toward online communities
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- Figure 24: Social media interactions and viewing, by age of children in the household, February 2021
Reasons to Interact on Social Media
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- Connection and compassion outweigh confrontation
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- Figure 25: Reasons to interact on social media, February 2021
- Men drive confrontations
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- Figure 26: Reasons to interact on social media, by gender, February 2021
- Conversation-driven apps breed negativity
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- Figure 27: Reasons to interact on social media, by daily users of select social media platforms, February 2021
Brand Interactions
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- Social media ads inspire purchases
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- Figure 28: Brand interactions on social media, February 2021
- Young adults are curious, but older adults share and purchase
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- Figure 29: Brand interactions on social media, by age, February 2021
Cancel Culture
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- One third of social media users unfollowed accounts
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- Figure 30: Cancel culture behaviors, February 2021
- Confrontational men more likely to dismiss social media
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- Figure 31: Cancel culture behaviors, by gender, February 2021
- Young users churn through accounts, followers
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- Figure 32: Cancel culture behaviors, by age, February 2021
Influencer Culture
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- Influencer followers shrunk slightly from 2020
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- Figure 33: Share of people who follow influencers, December 2018, December 2019 and February 2021
- Users want influencers to be real enough to say it’s time to take a break
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- Figure 34: Attitudes toward connection to influencers, February 2021
- Young men are on social media for their own brand
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- Figure 35: Attitudes toward self-promotion on social media, by gender and age, February 2021
The Role of Social Media Companies
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- Users want platforms to intervene, but not too much
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- Figure 36: Attitudes toward the role of social media companies, February 2021
- Harm and help go hand in hand on social media
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- Figure 37: Attitudes toward the benefits and pitfalls of social media, February 2021
- Select voices can elevate low trust in social media
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- Figure 38: Attitudes toward trust and community on social media, February 2021
- Influencers bring community to social media
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- Figure 39: Attitudes toward trust and community on social media, by influencer followers, February 2021
Appendix – Data Sources and Abbreviations
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- Data sources
- Sales data
- Consumer survey data
- Abbreviations and terms
- Abbreviations
- Terms
Appendix – Correspondence Analysis
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- Methodology
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- Figure 40: Perceptions of platforms, February 2021
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- Figure 41: Correspondence analysis – Principal map – Perceptions of platforms, February 2021
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