Social and Media Networks - UK - May 2019

OVERVIEW
What you need to know
Products covered in this Report
Social networks
Media networks
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The market
Social media remains the most prominent smartphone activity
Data protection issues could drive lower social media usage
Social media companies could also be hit with massive fines
Companies and brands
Facebook announces FB5 redesign with a focus on groups
Crackdown on dangerous pranks and challenges
Twitter starts beta program with new coloured bubble design
Because of You campaign spreads positivity
The consumer
Facebook usage drops but still dominates
Figure 1: Consumer usage of social media platforms in the last three months (Top Five) 2017-19
Consumers still most likely to use Facebook every day
Figure 2: Daily social media use by brand, April 2019
Smartphone social media usage grows
Figure 3: Devices used to access social media, March 2019
Photos still dominate social media uploads
Figure 4: Most shared social media content, March 2019
Over four in 10 consumers use social media for messaging
Figure 5: Motivations to use social networks, March 2019
Vast majority think social media can negatively affect mental health
Around half of social networkers cut down usage in the last year
Figure 6: Attempts to reduce social media usage and its impact on mental health, March 2019
What we think
ISSUES AND INSIGHTS
Private communication will be key to the future of social networks
The facts
The implications
Social networks can be more proactive in dealing with mental health concerns
The facts
The implications
THE MARKET – WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Social media remains the most prominent smartphone activity
Data protection issues could drive lower social media usage
Social media companies could be hit with massive fines
Social networks battle against criminal content
MARKET DRIVERS
Social media remains the most prominent smartphone activity
Figure 7: Top five smartphone activities, March 2019
Data protection issues could drive lower social media usage
Social media companies could also be hit with massive fines
Mental health concerns could also affect market
Social networks battle against criminal content
ICO plans to crack down on Snapchat and Facebook’s attempts to retain users
COMPANIES AND BRANDS – WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Facebook announces FB5 redesign with a focus on groups
Crackdown on dangerous pranks and challenges
Twitter starts beta program with new coloured bubble design
Because of You campaign spreads positivity
MAJOR PLAYERS – FACEBOOK, INC
Background
Figure 8: Facebook Daily and monthly active users, 2013-19
User data exposed in range of incidents
September 2018 – Cyberattack affects 30 million
December 2018 – API bug and data sharing with company partners
March 2019 – Bug reveals passwords internally
Potential fallout
Facebook considers cross messaging between social platforms
Exploring cryptocurrency
Facebook announces FB5 redesign with a focus on groups
Instagram adds ecommerce app features
MAJOR PLAYERS – YOUTUBE
Background
Figure 9: YouTube monthly users, 2017-19
YouTube trials back-to-back ads
YouTube Premium comes to the UK
Crackdown on dangerous pranks and challenges
MAJOR PLAYERS – TWITTER
Background
Figure 10: Twitter monthly active users, 2017-18
Twitter deletes 70 million fake accounts after US election concerns
Twitter starts beta program with new coloured bubble design
Android users have protected tweets exposed between 2014 and 2019
Twitter acquires anti-bullying firm Smyte
MAJOR PLAYERS – SNAPCHAT
Background
Daily Snapchat users drop during 2018 but return in Q1 2019
Figure 11: Snapchat daily active users, 2017-18
Because of You campaign promotes positivity
Visual search with Amazon purchasing adds to m-commerce proposition
THE CONSUMER – WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW 
Facebook usage drops but still dominates
Smartphone social media usage grows
Photos still dominate social media uploads
Over four in 10 consumers use social media for messaging
Vast majority think social media can negatively affect mental health
Around half of social networkers cut down usage in last year
SOCIAL PLATFORMS USED
Facebook usage drops but still dominates
Figure 12: Consumer usage of social media platforms in the last three months, March 2019
Figure 13: Consumer usage of social media platforms in the last three months (Top Five), 2017-19
As Facebook is falling, Instagram is rising
Figure 14: Consumer usage of Instagram in the last three months, 2015-19
YouTube usage continues to be driven by younger generations
Figure 15: Consumer usage of social networks in the last three months, by generation (top five), March 2019
Google+ shuts down after minimal market impact
FREQUENCY OF SOCIAL MEDIA VISITS
Consumers still most likely to use Facebook every day
Figure 16: Frequency of social network usage, March 2019
YouTube again the focus for younger generations
Instagram daily usage edges closer to Facebook
Figure 17: Daily social media usage by brand, 2017-19
SOCIAL MEDIA ACCESS POINTS
Smartphone social media usage grows
Figure 18: Devices used to access social media, 2018-19
Under-40s show near-universal smartphone access
Figure 19: Usage of smartphones to access social media, March 2019
Nearly half rank smartphones as favourite social media device
Figure 20: Preferred device for accessing social media, 2018-19
TYPE OF CONTENT SHARED AND REASONS FOR USING SOCIAL MEDIA
Photos still dominate social media uploads
Figure 21: Most shared social media content, March 2019
Figure 22: Most shared social media content, 2018-19
Over four in 10 consumers use social media for messaging
Figure 23: Motivations to use social networks, March 2019
Snapchat users most likely to use social media for messaging
Figure 24: Top five motivations to use social networks, by social platforms used in the last three months (Top Five networks), March 2019
ATTITUDES TOWARDS SOCIAL MEDIA
Vast majority think social networks can negatively affect mental health
Around half of social networkers cut down usage in last year
Figure 25: Attempts to reduce social media usage and its impact on mental health, March 2019
Minority interest in combining social networks into one app
Figure 26: Interest in a universal social media app, March 2019
A quarter interested in social media from smart speakers
Figure 27: Interest in social media through smart speakers, March 2019
APPENDIX – DATA SOURCES, ABBREVIATIONS AND SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Abbreviations
Consumer research methodology