Social media inflation results in a wave of distress amongst advertisers

Due to the not-so-recent surge in online activities due to the pandemic, digital growth rates have been escalating with the speed of light. Although the numbers have been rising, inflation won't be as positive for marketers in the coming days due to the change in policies. Apple's privacy policies and EU's Privacy directive is taking the world of advertisers by a storm by introducing steadfast policies to ensure a secure user experience hence limiting advertisement tools.

According to the Digital 2021 July Global Statshot report, the key figures for adaption to the digital world are:
  • 67% of the total population is active mobile users, amounting to 5.27 billion. The number is a result of the recent surge in mobile users accounting for 117 million new users in the past 12 months alone.
  • 2.5 million users have started using the internet around the world today.
  • The total rate of global internet users amounts to 61% of the total population.
  • More than half a billion people started using social media in the pandemic with a 13% increase in the past 12 months.
  • 57% of the world population are active social media users.

Social media growth

Although the pandemic is easing up and is showing signs of departure, social media is thriving. Annual growth of 13% marks a milestone for social media as the highest engagement ratio. For instance, 147 million more people are using social media today than they were at the beginning of the year.

Keeping track of the growth rate is impossible however companies keep evaluating metrics to track their user engagement hence the ratios extracted are from a reliable source; Facebook.

Facebook has indeed proved to be the largest platform despite being launched way after most successful platforms. The tech giant will reportedly reach a hearty user-base of 3 billion monthly-active-user ratios by next year. This rate is for the social site alone. If we were to consider all of Facebook's subsidiaries, 3.5 billion users already use Whatsapp, Instagram, and such Facebook companies.

Aside from the Facebook empire, TikTok has been building a strong base as well with a download rate of 57 million this year alone. The number of users remains a mystery as TikTok seems to believe in the evil eye.

Social media engagement

Although the number of users has increased, ever since the lockdown has eased up, the screen time has significantly decreased. This has been majorly prevalent in the past 3 months with people spending half a minute less on both mobiles and computers.

This half a minute equates to nothing when compared to the 7 hours each day dedicated to the use of social media by innumerable users. Although the internet time or the screen time has decreased, people have been spending 120 more seconds on social media in the past 3 months.

The ratio of the consumption of print media and broadcast has significantly leveled up too in the past 3 months. Now, 8.5% more people spend at least 4 more minutes reading the newspaper or magazines while 3.5% more people listen to broadcast radio daily with an increase of 120 seconds.

Pandemic affecting Instagram

People have been pretty active on social media for the past year, majorly focusing on Instagram as the fuel for their online businesses. Due to this, Instagram's reach has doubled over to a hundred million users in the past 3 months alone.

The new privacy policies are bound to target markers that locate and track users across certain regions. This is significantly going to affect those living in the UK and across European Union. However, the downfall is going to only affect the rate of reach of advertisers and not the number of users.

There has been no major change in the impact of reach of Facebook. The change here is only going to affect slowly, meaning that advertisers will have enough time to adapt and change according to the new policies. As mentioned earlier, despite the implementation of the new policies, Instagram showed a surge in the user rate instead of any possible decrease.

The role of translation tools and Internet speed

With the increase in the number of users, the demand for the internet has risen too. This has resulted in an increased average mobile connection speed of 60% globally. According to a report, only Afghanistan and Venezuela are subject to a low mobile speed below 10 Mbps.

As the world turns into a global village, people across different sectors need communication tools which has resulted in a surge in the use of internet translation tools. According to a report, 1 in 3 users uses translation tools every week.

Bottom Line

The increase in the adoption of mobile and the internet has significantly increased opportunities for platforms and marketers. The main focus for the rest of the year should be to focus on the macro trends since minor ones are mere distractions and act as hindrances, prepare for change since social media can never be constant, and make communication and entertainment their mantra.

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