Has Coronavirus changed the Digital Media landscape forever?

One of the many side-effects of the pandemic is social media usage.

A recent report published by the GlobalWebIndex found that two-thirds of consumers think they will continue to use social media the same way they have during the lockdown. The report found that 72% of social media users in the UK follow US Influencers and that they are spending more time on social media per day than before the lockdown.

Why is this important? From a marketing perspective, it’s become clear that the impact of coronavirus has caused the marketing landscape to shift focus in a potentially permanent way. The trends we have seen for companies who have managed to adapt to e-commerce during the lockdown may reap the rewards for years to come.

With such a steep rise in the amount of people following influencers, it shows that along with existing research, this causes an impact on consumer behaviours. The survey defined their audience as internet users who follow content creators and influencers on social media. This definition rendered a sample of 1,056 (UK) and 1,038 (U.S.) internet users aged 16-64. This gives a lot of power to influencers to sell products and promote brands to their growing audiences. While this is nothing new, the number of consumers trusting these influencers for reviews, recommendations and information has gone up significantly since March 2020.

GenZ are becoming the most important spending demographic l Apple Card

The restriction on normal day-to-day activities has increased most individuals’ daily consumption of media in general. If you are looking to grow your brand, now has never been a better time. Set up your social channels and find your audience. Before all of this, we already knew that Gen Z were using social media at the highest levels. Over the next few years Gen Z will evolve into the most important demographic for your brand to target in order to maximise reach and sales.

Not sure where to start in planning your digital marketing campaign? Reach out to a member of the team!