How COVID-19 has changed consumer behavior on social media?

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How COVID-19 has changed consumer behavior on
social media?
For less essential or non-essential groups, a
lock-down is imposed, and most of us are working
from home. It is necessary to follow isolation
protocols to ensure the safety of yourself and
your friends and family. People are trying to
kill time any way they can some are learning
new things or completing their watch list for
shows and movies. While some of us are scrolling
on social media trying to find something
interesting or informational. So, how has the
lock-down changed the face of consumer behavior
on social media? Increased Consumption Social
media marketing has always been the most consumed
form of content. Earlier, the use of social
media averaged at 3 hrs. per day. People use
travelling time or break time to engage in
social media. Since the lock-down, the average
hours have increased exponentially. With more
time in hand, especially that is saved by
staying home and not having to travel, the
engagement rates have soared. It is observed
that the time people spend on apps has increased
by at least 20.
Unlike other media, social media is abundant the
supply increases with demand. It is practically
impossible to run out of content to see on social
media.
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Appreciation for sensibility It is noticed that
consumers do not prefer seeing brands on their
social media. Brands that try to grab every
opportunity to advertise, not considering the
sensitivity can send out the wrong message.
While, on the other hand, when a brand comes
forward to help their consumers by providing them
assistance or contributing in a way to help with
the crisis, consumers are more enticed. It helps
when brands change their means to make sure their
customers are safe, like following hygiene
protocols to ensure the safety of their workers
as well as consumers. Ads that have a purpose or
a message are popular among the customers on
social media.
Increased Engagement Most of the users have
started creating content instead of just
consuming it from creating dance videos,
tutorials for cooking, makeup to writing blogs.
Most consumers are making use of their time to
get creative and try something they didnt have
time for because of their busy schedules. It is
seen that customers are also posting more and
engaging more with posts on social media.
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Increased active users across platforms The
number of social media users was about 3.4
billion in 2019. As boredom strikes, users have
started using more forms of social media
platforms, increasing the number of active
social media users. It was assumed that you get
most engagements during a specific time of the
day. As the customers are now mostly online it
is safe to say, it is always a good time to post.
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Change in content preferences Due to safety
concerns, customers have stopped eating out or
ordering in, which has
led to a substantial decrease in engagement with
food and beverage sectors. On the other hand, as
customers are trying to get the most of the
lock-down by following or starting new self-care
habits, a rise is seen in health and beauty
trends. With growing concerns about job security,
lock-down extensions, share market fluctuations,
the engagement for finance and news has also
increased. Consumer behavior is bound to change
with social cultural changes, which makes it
essential for brands to follow a dynamic strategy
for content curation and publishing. This can
help brands to reach and connect with their
audience effectively.