Agencies Pioniri and Smart Plus Research have been conducting their research into the trends on social networks for two years now, in the belief that this will help marketers and communications professionals better understand the behavior, interests and habits of consumers on social networks and online communication channels.
As changes in the sphere of social media are fast and almost daily, based on the results of this year’s survey conducted in March 2018, a couple of major changes can be identified: Instagram recorded a major growth, as well as the messaging platforms such as Viber and WhatsApp. There was also a rise in the number of users who use the internet via mobile phones, while on the other hand there is a fall in trust in Facebook advertising and influencers.
The Social Serbia 2018 survey included a representative sample of 1000 members of the online population aged 13 to 64 years. Like last year, patterns of using social networks and users’ attitudes to advertising were studied.
Although 2018 is announced as the year of influencers as the unavoidable channel of communication for many brands, the research found a slight drop in the trust of users of social networks in influencers and the messages they send to their followers.
In spite of the huge Cambridge Analytica scandal, and the ensuing #deleteFacebook initiative, as well as the news that Facebook is bleeding users, in Serbia there has not been a drop in the number of Facebook users, but it is evident that the time spent on this social network is decreasing.
Despite all that, Facebook will remain the most dominant social networking platform and communications platform with a broad audience, while Instagram continues its rapid growth trend that is expected. Namely, Instagram recorded the largest growth of almost 60% compared to last year’s survey, which makes this social network a winner for 2017.
“Cheaper, yet quality phones are available to more and more people, which explains the growth of mobile internet users, but also the growth of the use of particular social networks and messaging platforms. Though trust in Facebook advertising is declining, it is interesting that 27% of respondents said they use this social network for the ability to track their favorite brands. So, when we know so much about the attitudes and behavior of your current or potential customers or users on social networks, there is no reason not to use this knowledge to establish better relationship of your brand with your users,” concluded Ivan Živković, Managing Director and Creative Director of Pioniri Agency.
You can find more interesting data from this research here, and if you want a more detailed report and a deeper demographic analysis you can find out how to get them on the site itself.
