How consumers use social media in 2020- Findings from the 2020 GRIT Report

Marketing & Advertising
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The 2020 GRIT Report is out, which is very exciting news for researchers like me. I’ll be sharing some findings over the course of the next few days of data I find interesting.
In discussing how social media has changed consumers, Guillaume Decugis, CEO of Linkfluence, uncovers the following stats:

  • People spend more time bonding on social media than they do in real life- 2.5 hours per day across 8 social networks on average.
    -Trust in advertising hit a record low of 25% in 2019 indicating that consumers would rather put their faith in their online friends/peers instead
    -The percentage of adult social media users has increased by 50% since 2010 (50%!!!)

So, my key takeaway questions- is all of this an indication of the growing importance of word of mouth advertising? Has power been ripped away from the brand itself? Do new attempts by brands like paying social media influencers to advertise and hopping on whatever cultural event is taking place come off as a desperate attempt to stay relevant? Have any influencer advertisements or advertisements based around cultural trends worked on you? Let me know!

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Interesting stats there. Interesting and maybe worrying? Bonding on social media rather than real life is the part that worries me a little, but I guess it is the product of an economy where people need to move location quite a bit. So social media is the most convenient way to stay connected to family, friends, loved ones, etc.

I also would not be surprised if most of that social media increase is in the boomer generation. If someone told me 10 years ago that my father in a few years would be spending as much as he does on his phone, I would have called that person crazy. He didn’t even own a cell phone. Now? He’s constantly updating me on his daily projects, which I guess is a good side of social media.

I would say the growing importance is “word of post/comment” advertising. The power of social media allows consumers to praise, trash, or recommend products and services to others. And once posted, it’s there for thousands of people to see. If the influencer route is growing, then my guess is that it is working on many consumers. Personally, I can’t say I’ve ever bought a product because of an influencer making a post.

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