Businesses are shutting down or asking employees to work from home. As a result, people’s online habits are shifting drastically, with social media platforms becoming the go-to method of interacting with friends and loved ones. However, not everyone is flocking to social media. In this blog, we will look at how the pandemic has impacted social media consumption by consumers, and how advertisers have had an opposite response, with a final discussion on the importance of brands maintaining a social media presence even in times of crisis.
People are Flocking to Social Media Platforms…
It’s important to remember that the outbreak of the coronavirus has been in the news cycle in some form or another since January, across different parts of the world. In response, social media audiences have been hitting their favored platforms. Here’s how several social media platforms have been impacted.
Twitter Surges
Seen as a platform for quick engagement and real-time updates, Twitter reported a spike in usage during the January and February, at one point reporting a 23% jump. This was likely due to users, hungry for the latest knowledge, turned to Twitter repeatedly for news, shared information, updates from businesses, friends, and loved ones, and even to find comfort or distraction.
Facebook Becomes An Invaluable Communications Resource
Headquartered in a city where nonessential businesses have been asked to close, Facebook’s managing one of the biggest challenges in the history of the company in the midst of the outbreak. With 45,000 workers learning to work remotely and retain efficiency and functionality across the company, the company saw double the number of phone calls made over through the various apps owned by the brand, while messaging was up by 50% and the number of group calls in the heaviest hit countries skyrocketed. The company says that its biggest challenge has been to remain stable, but that doing so is vital as the platform and other social media platforms are crucial for supporting such a large number of people working from home and trying to maintain social connections while isolated.
…While Advertisers are Pulling Back
Despite these surges in traffic, platforms are seeing advertisers reduce or cancel advertisements altogether. Twitter, in the same period they saw the upsurge in traffic, expect a 20% drop in advertising revenue, which is anticipated to only get worse in the coming months as uncertainty of what’s to come increases. Facebook historically does not report such figures to Wall Street, but they have reported that they are experiencing significant pressure in its advertising business. However, the decline in advertising worldwide on social media would mean the cost per click would also decline. Specifically, small businesses should be taking a leap at these opportunities to get in front of a wider audience for a decrease on the click rate dollar. At the start of the year, brands had to pay on average 11 U.S. cents for a click on a Facebook ad. According to reports, in mid-March 2020, brands had to pay close to 9 U.S. cents for a click on Facebook ads. So, now more than ever is the time to increase your social media ad budgets.
The real pressure lies throughout other media outlets, who were already struggling to compete for advertising dollars against social media platforms. As trends continue, every platform looking to benefit from the online spend of advertising dollars by companies will be struggling to find ways to generate income.
Why It’s Important to Maintain a Genuine and Engaging Presence on Social Media
In order to safeguard the future of your brand, it’s important to create genuine content across your social media platforms that allows you to engage with current clients. As more and more of the population stays home for the safety of their communities, they are looking to social media for news, information, engagement, and other types of content to consume. If you engage your existing audience with content that is truly shareable, readers will see the value that they’re looking for from your brand, and that engagement and human connection will be something that they remember. Further, they would possibly share with their networks that are likely to be of similar consumers who will also find value in your brand.
A Partner With Your Brand’s Future In Mind
This crisis will pass, but the way that we engage across social media will hold a new and crucial place in the new post-pandemic economy. What we do now matters, and will set the stage for how clients view our brand in the future. Commercial video production products such as online video content is a primary driver in engagement on social media and other online platforms. As an Atlanta video production company, we at Remedy Films are here to help any company needing to create, re-imagine, and produce quality video content with the intent of improving your engagement across social media platforms. Click here to see some simple and engaging social content to keep your customers connected with your brand. Reach out to us today to learn more about the commercial video production services we are currently offering and to partner with our team.
