Social Media Statistics Update

At the end of the Q4 of 2022, there were 4.9 billion people globally who use one or more social media platforms daily (Forbes, 2022).

An average person spends 145 minutes every day on social media (Workup, 2022).

Short-form video will remain the top marketing content format for 2023, it has the highest ROI and growth rate, with 90% of marketers now using this media format (HubSpot, 2023).

Facebook

• Facebook has remained the most-used social media platform with 2.98 billion monthly active users as of Q1 of 2023, a 7.18% increase year on year (Dean, 2023).
• On average 78.63% of these users use the platform daily, equivalent to 1.9 billion (Dean, 2023).

Instagram

• At the end of 2022, it was estimated that there were 1.28 billion monthly users, it has been forecasted there will be an increase to 1.44 billion (Dixon, 2022).
• Static images posted on Instagram achieved an average reach of 1,850 users and carousels reached an average of 2,325 users (Dixon, 2022).

YouTube

• At the end of 2022 there were 2.5 million active monthly users (Omicore, 2023)
• The average time spent on YouTube globally is 19 minutes daily (Omicore, 2023)
• 500 billion YouTube videos are watched daily (Omicore, 2023)

Twitter

• In 2022, there were 229 million daily active users, this is a 15.9% increase compared to 2021 (Oberlo, 2023).
• On average, 500 million tweets are shared daily (Oberlo, 2023).
• 6 out of 10 (59.2%) Twitter users globally are between 25 and 49 years old (Statista, 2021)

TikTok

• TikTok had 1.6 billion active monthly users at the end of 2022 and is estimated to reach 1.8 billion by the end of 2023 (Kurve, 2023)
• Gen Z dominates TikTok, with 83% using the platform in Q1 2023 (Kurve, 2023)
• TikTok is the most engaging social media platform, with an average session length of 10.85 minutes, the time spent on TikTok globally in 2022 was a mammoth 68 billion hours.
• Over 1 billion videos are viewed daily (Kurve, 2023)
• TikTok has the highest engagement rate 4.25% compared to Instagram 0.60% (Kurve, 2023)

If you need some help with any areas of your marketing, get in touch by emailing us on info@themediaangel.co.uk

UK government to hit Facebook, Google and Amazon with digital services tax

The government will soon impose a ‘digital services tax’ on UK revenues generated by “established tech giants” like Facebook, Google and Amazon.

The 2% levy was announced by chancellor Philip Hammond in the Autumn budget today (29 October). It will come into force in 2020 following a period of consultation.

The announcement follows on from heavy criticism about the amount of tax tech behemoths pay to the treasury. In most instances they are gleaned from ad revenues – in comparison to their UK profit.

How much tax do tech giants pay?

Facebook UK revenues: £1.26bn Tax: £15.8m (2017)

Amazon UK revenues: £72m Tax: £4.5m (2017)

Google UK revenues: £1bn Tax: £36.4m (2016)

Snapchat UK revenues: £26m Tax: £360K (15 months to Dec 2016)

Twitter UK revenues: £76m Tax: £1.2m (2015)

Without going into detail, Hammond said the levy wouldn’t apply to “small UK startups.” But instead be targeted at profitable digital services companies that generate “at least £500m a year in global revenue”.

Kill or cure? 

Ahead of the announcement, IAB chief executive Jon Mew argued that such a levy risked harming the UK digital ad market.

“While the government has said it wants to focus new measures on larger businesses, it would be difficult to avoid collateral damage across the sector and a negative effect on competition,” Mew warned.

“A tax on revenue would create a disincentive for competitors to set up and grow in the UK market. And would impact on mid-market players who drive competition and provide choice.”

Mew suggested that if the government was truly committed to leading the charge on innovation-friendly regulation that supports the growth of the tech sector then it should focus on supporting efforts to accelerate the EU Commission and OECD process to agree to an international approach to digital taxation.

Source: The Drum 

Twitter turns 10 today!

10 years ago Twitter posted their first tweet; now more than 500 million are posted every day. While they remain the go-to destination for brands and users looking for real-time information, Twitter hopes to become more than a social network. In fact, the brand hopes to become the hub for people to explore their interests.

From the ‘#’ to the promoted ad product, Twitter has been a major player in the social media revolution that has turned modern marketing on its head. Now brands can target individuals, start a two-way conversation, create interactive content via polls and join in on real-time issues.

CEO Jack Dorsey has a long-term strategy in place to ensure Twitter grows both users and advertisers. And it revolves around positioning Twitter as an “interest network”.

Twitter is a pivotal tool in the conversations, cultural moments and news events that are going on around the world. Its reputation as the resource of choice when something important happens has made them an invaluable resource for personal and corporate moments alike. Its real-time nature is still its biggest strength.

Twitter’s UK managing director Dara Nasr, discusses how he plans to grow Twitter as an ‘interest network’ rather than a social one, by highlighting all the topics that people are talking about. He explains: “Twitter is the shortest distance between you and what you are passionate about. We have 500 million tweets a day so almost every subject is covered. What we want to do is capitalise on this massive source on information.”

In the US, Twitter recently launched its first TV ad campaign aiming to do just that by targeting sports fans. A similar campaign is expected in the UK after Twitter appointed Lucky Generals to come up with creative for this market.

Twitter was the first social network to come up with a promoted ad product. Launched in April 2010, the promoted tweet was a big change from the previously popular banner ad, and its success led Twitter to launch promoted trends, promoted accounts and most recently promoted moments.

Twitter users are renowned for being passionate and engaged with other people’s tweets and so Twitter wanted brands to be able to utilize that engagement. So it was important for them to develop a product that was similar and suited to the organic product.

Twitter ads average engagement rate levels remain high between 1% and 3%.

Forrester marketing analyst Erna Alfred Liousas claims the key to maintaining brands’ interest in advertising on Twitter is to continue investment in the capabilities and communications that support its direction to be an interest network.

Twitter’s MD promises brands increased innovation and sophistication of products, in particular in targeting and analytics. The ability to target by keyword or interest really helps advertisers that have a tight plan to engage with their target market. Improved insight tools also enable advertisers to view other topics that interest their target market, adding an extra layer of sophistication and insight into their campaigns.

Twitter has also had a major impact on marketing, particularly in the areas of reactive, real-time and customer service. Hannah Beesley, social director at creative agency Iris Worldwide, highlights how events such as Oreo’s blackout ad during the Super Bowl in 2013 “woke brands up to the power of joining the conversation” and the risks.

Peter Markey, CMO at the Post Office, says Twitter is a vital part of the marketing mix because of its openness and transparency. “Twitter reminds all good marketers that your brand has to be authentic.”

Social media and our use of it will continue to evolve, and Twitter must evolve too. For marketers, the desire to draw customers closer to their brands will only intensify further and Twitter has steps in place to ensure they provide marketers with a platform which enables exactly that.

Get in touch with one of our team at The Media Angel on 02921 320 200 for award winning advice on how to benefit from Twitters 10 year success! Alternatively, send an email to info@themediaangel.co.uk and one of the team promise to be straight back in touch.