Social Media Stats
8 Reactions to 4 Stats About Facebook and Instagram
By now we all know social media is here to stay. Facebook remains a goliath and Instagram is the champ of all things new and cool. CSG’s very own social media experts Bri Petrauskas and Brad Krebs recently attended a Facebook conference to stay sharp about these platforms. Below are four stats that stood out to them and what they think the data means for the industry.
1. 60%+ of ads on Instagram Stories are watched with sound on
Bri: For a while, closed captioned videos on social were all the rage and I would say it limited our creative expression. Granted, we found ways to portray the information visually, but have you ever tried to watch a scary movie without sound? A family being terrorized by strangers is a lot less scary when you take out the suspenseful tunes (that’s why I plug my ears in horror films). With the gift of sound, we are able to create certain effects on the audience that otherwise can get lost in silence.
Brad: This is a crazy stat since the vast majority of people scroll through social media with the sound off – something like 80% of Facebook videos are watched with the sound off. With users choosing to use sound with Instagram stories, it gives us tons of opportunity to be creative and capture the audience for a much better experience. Stories are the perfect place to get creative and get your message across with sound. I mean, could you imagine watching Yodel Boy with no sound? Come on.
2. 82% of consumer internet traffic will be video by 2021
Bri: We’re already seeing this happen since Facebook prioritizes posts with video over images and we’re witnessing many well-known brands shift to video on their social feeds. I’m not surprised video content is predicted to dominate our world, but I do want to call attention to what we can do when video cannibalization starts to happen because when everyone has a video to share, what will make yours stand out? A great place to start is live video. This content is more authentic and consumers are more interested in who a brand really is instead of who they project themselves to be in professionally produced videos.
Brad: Through recorded video, live video, GIFs, boomerangs, etc., the world of social media is well on its way to being completely dominated by moving images. As marketers, it’s important to try different things with video – experiment with as many different types as possible to keep the audience listening.
3. 75% of people search, share or shop after being inspired by a post on Instagram
Bri: Can I volunteer as tribute for the poster child of this stat? At a high level overview, I’m excited to see how social media platforms adopt to accommodate shopping (shout out Instagram for the shopping bag tagging feature) and how marketers change strategies to include influencers. For now, a low hanging fruit is making posts as easy to search as possible by using relevant hashtags to capture those who are inspired by a post and looking for more information.
Brad: Shopping on social is as easy and as integrated as ever. With just a few clicks you can go from seeing a product for the very first time to having it express-shipped to your house. With the number of users on various social media platforms throughout the day, your products will follow your audience from first sight to purchase and we’re seeing that process continuing to get easier. So go ahead and pull up Instagram to buy that dope cowboy hat you saw some kid wearing in a Walmart.
4. 2.20B people access Facebook on mobile every month
Bri: Because why get out a clunky computer when Facebook fits in your pocket? To give you more context, Facebook has 2.20B active users, so if 2.07B are accessing via mobile, that’s 94% of users are logging on from their phones. One way this affects the way brands use the platform is when drafting copy for posts. On a mobile device, the copy is truncated sooner than when on a desktop, so to get the message across and include the CTA, concise copy is key. A person who has to tap on the “see more” button to understand the post, is a target that will probably keep scrolling.
Brad: My biggest takeaway from this is just how vital it is to design for mobile first when it comes to social content. With the vast majority of people seeing your social content through their phone, make sure that experience is optimized to keep them engaging and listening as long as possible.