Brands continue to invest more in social media marketing each year. In fact, HubSpot found that 74% of global marketers currently invest in social media marketing. And with this adoption, theres been enormous amounts of data collected in an effort to measure the success of social media campaigns.

But for many marketing teams, its becoming a challenge to sift through the wide range of metrics to understand if their social media campaigns are effective. Thats why we’ve asked social media experts how they determine success and what metrics you should track that actually matter.

Virtual reality media platform, Sensorium, has announced its membership in the Global Blockchain Business Council, or GBBC — a Swiss-based non-profit industry association for blockchain.

Sensorium will participate in GBBCs upcoming virtual forum on May 28, which will see the firms director of technology Alex Blagirev discuss his predictions for how virtual social media will change the way that people interact online.

Identity theft, fake accounts, etc. all will be to a large extent eliminated as human participants in the socially-virtual world will be required to verify their identity via the blockchain.

Social distancing measures amid the coronavirus pandemic have been rather difficult for everyone. While people remain locked indoors, social media companies offer huge respite from boredom that often becomes unbearable.

These companies have not only welcomed new users over the past couple of months but also have taken many steps to ensure engagement and good browsing experience. Let us thus take a look at how these companies have performed since the pandemic broke out and the factors likely to push them ahead.

3 Social Media Stocks That Gained Despite the Odds

Topping the list of social media companies are Facebook, Inc. FB, Twitter, Inc. TWTR and Snap Inc. SNAP that have fared well during the pandemic. Shares of these three giants have returned decently so far this year and year-over-year revenue growth impressed in recently released results.

The rise of social media has changed the information landscape in myriad ways, including the manner in which many Americans keep up with current events. In fact, social media is now among the most common pathways where people – particularly young adults – get their political news.

A new Pew Research Center analysis of surveys conducted between October 2019 and June 2020 finds that those who rely most on social media for political news stand apart from other news consumers in a number of ways. These U.S. adults, for instance, tend to be less likely than other news consumers to closely follow major news stories, such as the coronavirus outbreak and the 2020 presidential election. And, perhaps tied to that, this group also tends to be less knowledgeable about these topics.

Through several surveys over the last nine months, the Center’s American News Pathways project has been exploring the connection between Americans news habits and what they hear and perceive about current events. One important aspect of this project is taking a deeper look at the pathways, or platforms, Americans use most often to access news – such as news websites or apps, social media, local, cable and network TV, radio, or print.

As of late last year, 18% of U.S. adults say they turn most to social media for political and election news. That is lower than the share who use news websites and apps (25%), but about on par with the percent who say their primary pathway is cable television (16%) or local television (16%), and higher than the shares who turn to three other pathways mentioned in the survey (network TV, radio and print).

With all the social media site tools available, often the best way to be effective with your social marketing is to automate the process. First, you need to decide whether automation is right for you and, if so, which automation you should set up. Automation can be key in turning your contacts into profits because you can post less, but at the same time, you get more exposure. Social automation, however, can be considered spamming, so be careful with how you set it up.

How does social network automation work? There are tools like Hootsuite and SocialFlow where you can automate your social networking sites or TubeMogul to automate your video posting. These sites can submit a link or post to not just one or two sites but, in some cases, up to 60.

You can use these completely free platforms to boost your personal brand and grow your audience. Lets look at some winning ways you can enhance your online presence.

1. Keep your profiles updated
2. Use visuals!
3. Use keywords in your profiles
4. Make your headlines attractive
5. Be active on social media
6. Develop a persona

The Trump administration on Monday formally asked the Federal Communications Commission to develop plans to regulate social media platforms.

The Commerce Department sent a petition for rulemaking to the FCC on Monday asking the agency to reinterpret Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, which provides online companies immunity from legal liability for the actions of their users.

A new study led by researchers at McGill University finds that people who get their news from social media are more likely to have misperceptions about COVID-19. Those that consume more traditional news media have fewer misperceptions and are more likely to follow public health recommendations like social distancing.

In a study published in Misinformation Review, researchers looked at the behavioral effects of exposure to misinformation by combining social media analysis, news analysis, and survey research. They combed through millions of tweets, thousands of news articles, and the results of a nationally representative survey of Canadians to answer three questions: How prevalent is COVID-19 misinformation on social media and in traditional news media? Does it contribute to misperceptions about COVID-19? And does it affect behavior?

One of your greatest foes as an entrepreneur is misinformation. There is a lot of erroneous advice online, especially when it comes to social media marketing. Unfortunately, much of this guidance seems reasonable on paper. Without the right research or knowledge, you may end up unwittingly endangering the future of your business. Here are seven common social media marketing myths you need to watch out for.

1. Negative feedback can be safely ignored
2. Email is no longer relevant
3. All content represents thought leadership
4. Social media and content marketing are two different campaigns
5. Content topics must be limited to protect your secrets
6. Social media marketing is primarily for generating new customers
7. Social media metrics cannot be measured

COMMON CORE OBJECTIVES FOR SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGERS
Share positive company news
Grow the company’s audience across platforms
Steadily improve engagement
Provide consistent value to followers, through education, entertainment or both

To optimize these partnerships, companies should take the following steps:

1. Put a premium on trust.
2. Establish clear and ongoing communication channels — and do it early.
3. Meld internal and external perspectives.
4. Establish clear objectives and align on metrics.
5. Keep one hand on the steering wheel.
6. Seek partners that adapt in times of uncertainty.
7. Stay attuned to social and political issues through your agency partner.
8. Help the rest of your business learn from your social media agency partnership.

A study from QUOTED reveals the average time spent on social media in North America is 2 hours and 6 minutes. Adults spend 2 hours and 55 minutes on their cell phones a day. It goes without saying that if you are not utilizing social media platforms for your business, there is major leverage that is being missed out on.

Harness the power of social media
Below is a breakdown of each of the major five social media platforms.

Instagram
YouTube
TikTok
Twitter
LinkedIn

Misjudging information can spiral out of control in hours. Researchers at the Harvard Kennedy School highlight that misinformation is a major threat to global public health(opens in a new tab), especially when there is a large lag between the emergence of a disease and an effective solution. Examining COVID-19, they identified that the lag time for vaccine development has created a vacuum for scepticism to grow and misinformation to spread – which has been amplified by bots and trolls.

Social media is designed to share information we believe to be correct, quickly, and works on gut-based intuitions where patterns are rapidly recognised, and biases quickly confirmed.

Misinformation is having a serious impact on our health worldwide.

Ask to connect in your own words, for a good reason--do not use a template.
Be honest and do not spam.
Your profile photo.
Talk to folks.
Read the tone of the room.

When US consumers started spending more time at home during the pandemic, they also started using social media more, providing an unexpected boost to engagement on these platforms. The coronavirus has hastened the development and popularity of new live streaming, video chat and gaming features on social networks.

The Harris Poll conducted between late March and early May, found that between 46% and 51% of US adults were using social media more since the outbreak began. In the most recent May 1–3 survey, 51% of total respondents — 60% of those ages 18 to 34, 64% of those ages 35 to 49, and 34% of those ages 65 and up – reported increased usage on certain social media platforms.

Which consumer behavior trends on social media will continue after the pandemic and how can we prepare for any expected shifts?

Social virtual reality, or social VR, has seen an increase in users too. Social VR apps like Rec Room, BigScreen, VRChat, and AltSpace have all seen an increase in traffic. AltSpace is even hosting one of Burning Man's virtual worlds from this year's virtual event. This week, Facebook announced the launch of the public beta for its social VR experience, Horizon.

Sneak peeks of Horizon screenshots are flooding social media. Facebook dropped the gameplay trailer for Facebook Horizon after months of anticipation. The trailer shows avatars playing games in Horizon, building their own worlds, and having fun with other avatars. Facebook Horizon's beta access is currently invite-only.

By setting boundaries around what you post, when you're online, and who you surround yourself with in real life, you can strike a better balance between Instagram and reality

Of course not everyone can become the next YouTube or Instagram star, but many like Lipovetsky have used social media as a platform to spread a message, and in turn make it a career in the process.

Content can not be more of the same however, and being relevant while standing out remains crucial. Right now more of the same is not going to work. Creators need to think about what is working today and how to change it up for tomorrow.

When US consumers started spending more time at home in March and April, they also started using social media more, providing an unexpected boost to the platforms.

Depending on the research source, up to 51% of US adults are using social media at higher rates during the pandemic. But even though elevated social usage continued at least into May, causing us to upgrade our forecast for time spent on social networks by US social network users, we believe that when consumers eventually get back to their normal routines of school, work and social activities, the trends will moderate. We think this will start to happen later in 2020, with a more visible downward trend evident in 2021 and beyond.

Like any Fortune 500 company, public safety agencies should be active users of social media if they want to thrive in todays information-rich environment. Content on the big four platforms—Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube—is accessed by more than a billion people worldwide. For many people social media is the first thing they check in the morning and the last thing they see before they sleep at night.

While most of us all have personal social media accounts where we post our cat videos and vacation photos, there are still agencies that don’t have official social media presences. My argument is that all public safety entities should maintain an active presence on at least one of the larger social media platforms, because the benefits of doing so far outweigh the costs in time and effort.

While there are many reasons why every agency should have a vibrant presence online (many of which are unique to individual departments), my favorite benefits all relate to recognition: staff recognition, agency recognition, and interagency recognition.

Social media has seeped into virtually all aspects of modern life. The vast social media universe collectively now holds 3.8 billion users, representing roughly 50% of the global population.

With an additional billion internet users projected to come online in the coming years, it’s possible that the social media universe could expand even further.

How the Networks Stack Up
To begin, let’s take a look at how social networks compare in terms of monthly active users (MAUs)—an industry metric widely used to gauge the success of these platforms.

Rank        Social Network        
#1        Facebook        
#2        WhatsApp        
#3        YouTube        
#4        Messenger        
#5        WeChat        
#6        Instagram        
#7        TikTok        
#8        QQ        
#9        Weibo        
#10        Qzone        
#11        Reddit

Social platforms are still reporting robust growth — yes, even Facebook — despite a growing chorus of opposition. Social conversation continues to shape everything from culture to the media cycle to our most intimate relationships. And we now spend more time than ever on our phones, with endless scrolling through our social feeds being a chief reason why.

But dig a little deeper, and a more nuanced picture emerges about social media users today that has important implications for the ways in which brands reach customers. Specifically, when you look at who is — and more importantly, who is not — driving the growth and popularity of social platforms, a key demographic appears to be somewhat in retreat: young people.

For example, 2019 findings from Edison Research and Triton Digital show social media usage overall among Americans 12 to 34 years old across several platforms has either leveled off or is waning, while 2019 research from Global Web Index suggests that the amount of time millennial and Gen Z audiences spend on many social platforms is either flat, declining, or not rising as greatly as it has in years past.

If you are reading this article, chances are you found it through social media. And that means the platform that used it to get your attention knows you are here. While you are reading these words, Facebook, Twitter, or Google are likely reading you.

That is the premise of the new Netflix documentary The Social Dilemma from filmmaker Jeff Orlowski, which features repentant Silicon Valley figures sounding the alarm that big tech companies are doing three very dangerous things: (1) Spying on you. (2) Manipulating your feeds to keep you engaged. (3) Deepening your biases and blind spots by pushing away everything else.

eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant told Deborah Knight her agency can compel social media companies to remove harmful content which victimises children.

However, we now have more adult cyber abuse reports coming in than we do youth-based cyberbullying reports.

Ms Inman Grant criticised the leadership of social networks for deflecting responsibility onto victims and regulators.

This year is likely the last one ever in which you can say that more than half the planet is not on social media.

Hootsuite just released a massive digital state of the union report. Some of the high-level findings:

5.2 billion of us now have phones globally
4.5 billion are connected to the internet
3.8 billion are active social media users

That 3.8 billion is 49% of the planet’s population, and it grew 9% over the past year.

The good news is that majority group members and men have an immense source of power at their disposal to prevent and confront bias in the workplace: their social networks. Here is how you can take action.

You have a bigger sphere of influence than you realize. Most people think about their immediate circle of friends as their audience. However, research in the study of social networks has shown they are wrong. Your ideas and behaviors ripple out from you, influencing your friends, friends of friends whom you may not even know, and friends of those friends as well. In fact, a whole range of outcomes are influenced by these third order ties – your weight, your values and beliefs, even your risk of divorce. This is your sphere of influence, in both your place of work and your daily life.

A database of 235 million social media profiles were found unsecured by researchers with Comparitech. While data scraping is technically legal, it goes against the terms of use for the brands affected.

The Facts:
Data scraping is the act of moving information from a website into an actionable form like an Excel spreadsheet or computer file. Such a technique can be benign under certain paradigms. For example, travel comparison sites like Trivago and Kayak deploy a program that scrapes hotel and airline sites for rates which it compiles on their website. Data scraping is commonly used by marketers to paint a clearer picture of their target base and advertise to them accordingly.

However, social media data scraping and aggregating is an effective way for hackers to quickly and easily scale phishing schemes and engage in fraudulent activities. Additionally, scraped data can be sold to companies who engage in spam practices as a means of advertising. Although spam remains legal in most jurisdictions, it is condemned as a legitimate marketing strategy. Finally, data scraping is commonly used on social media sites to steal content from influencers and repost it under a fraudulent account. It is for this reason that Facebook and Instagram banned the now defunct data scraping company,

Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat get all the buzz in the social media investing world. But Pinterest has sharply outperformed them all in 2020.

~ Brands must shift from their pre-pandemic social media strategies
~ More organic and engaging approaches are crucial when it comes to winning back customers or retaining new ones
~ Select the most appropriate platform that fits the target audience, even if it’s uncharted territory for your brand
~ Authentic influencer campaigns, user-generated content challenges and conversational tones are among the most effective ways to engage with customers

Convenience, but not only
At first glance, it could be said that the price of the product and its technical characteristics are decisive aspects when it comes to an expenditure. When two products have the same level of performance, the quality-price ratio always wins. But this is not true! The market is full of examples of products that are more popular even though there are competing goods that have similar characteristics.

Today, almost everyone is a critic, complete with an unfiltered opinion. Be it the clout chasers or active advocates, many take to social media to air these opinions and grievances where the views are met with either support or scorn; and the line between the two is often blurred.

To be present online, one must plan well and be equipped with a solid risk register to deal with any potential reputational damage that could occur. While a tweet may lead to brand tragedy, it could also lead to business popularity.

It's all dependent on metrics; a well-planned social marketing and content plan that considers all options should be viewed as your lifeline. Here are three ways to implement such a plan:

1. Make your metrics matter
2. Improve stakes and stakeholder management
3. Take online and offline conversations seriously

Social Marketing Predictions for 2020-2025

French startup Yubo is the biggest social media app you have never heard of — unless you are a teen. With a focus on young people under 25, the company has managed to attract 40 million users. A fraction of them hang out every day in live-streaming rooms, meet new people and spend money for more features.

That is right, the company isn’t betting on ads. You can pay to unlock items or subscribe to the app. Yubo  expects to generate $20 million in revenue this year — that’s twice as much revenue than it generated in 2019.

This year has been a whirlwind, but if there’s something we all have in common – aside from living in the midst of a pandemic – it is our mutual exposure to a new age of activism. Modern social movements have transitioned online, much like the rest of our lives. With social media platforms remaining at the forefront of online communication, it has become more important than ever to reevaluate why and how we use these platforms, especially as they pertain to social movements.

Instagram, with its incredibly platform-specific-spread, has mini slideshows of infographics. Twitter and Facebook both have catchy headlines and quips, bites of information from a wide range of credible and not-so-credible sources. Almost every form of social media has a way to disseminate information in bite-size chunks; that function is central to its purpose as social media. This is fine, except when it comes to activism.

There are two sides to online activism: there are those who want to appear like they care about a cause, and there are those who actually do. A lot of the former tend to fall into the brand/celebrity/influencer category.

During a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, a discussion was being held about the content moderation policies of various platforms and the impact of the recent US General Election. When Senator Lindsey Graham asked both Jack and Mark about their opinion whether their platforms can become addictive for the users, both answered differently.

As per Jack Dorsey, (like any other tech) social media platforms including Twitter and Facebook can make users addicted to continue using them. His opinion is in line with the opinions of several psychologists also who say that these social media networks give the users a sense of well-being by giving them a feeling of connection with others. One post after the other, and the urge of users to keep returning to these platforms to see newer posts one after another is like a trigger for their dopamine centers in the brain. And that is why psychologists believe that all social media platforms tend to become addicting for their users.

However, Mark Zuckerberg is of a different opinion. He stated in front of the Senate Committee that he believes that all the research regarding this matter is still inconclusive, and no one can say for sure if the social media platforms are addicting or not.

Think about learning. We all experience learning differently. Most of us took part in one or other forms of formal education — took a course, went to university or even attended a workshop. More often than not, we associate learning experiences with these formal settings. However, that’s not always the case; learning occurs throughout one’s life and well beyond the classroom.

In a world where social media is becoming part of our lives, it’s more relevant than ever to explore its potential as a learning and teaching tool. Research shows that social media and mobile devices can support learning and create a positive impact on both educators and learners.

As social media companies increasingly take on the role of free speech arbiters, they need to ensure their policies offer transparency and the types of checks and balances government relies on.

Social media companies do not want to moderate speech. They want to show you ads. Mark Zuckerberg famously told Senator Orrin Hatch as much in 2018 when asked about how Facebook makes money. But as advertisers and the people populating these ad-based platforms began to demand an online experience that was more heavily regulated to mitigate abusive behavior, platforms like Facebook were thrust into a quasi-governmental role. That’s a huge expansion in responsibilities for a company that just wants to show users ads. Predictably, it has not been a smooth transition.  

While visual content provides a fun and expressive outlet for people. The experience is not the same for everyone. For a large portion of the population, some kinds of content is inaccessible. According to the World Health Organization, about 15% of the world’s population lives with some form of disability.

Inclusive design should start with a solid understanding of accessibility fundamentals.  Most social media platforms have guides on accessibility and offer how-tos, best practices and tools. Other resources include Federal Social Media Accessibility Toolkit and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0.

Have you ever heard of conversion conversations? This sales technique involves getting to know your prospect through an online messaging platform, creating a conversation, then shifting to a sale once they are qualified. The best part? It is entirely free if you do the legwork.

When choosing which social media platform to use for your messaging, keep in mind that Facebook is still the largest social media platform, used by 2.6 billion users, according to Statista. Pew Research found that 75 percent of high earners use Facebook. Instagram is more visual, so if you are selling products or services that look good in photos, or if you are targeting younger generations, go for Instagram. According to Statista, 32 percent of users are between 18 and 24, and 33 percent are between 25 and 34.

Facebooks Path to Global Social Network Domination
From just a few thousand users in 2004 to 2.7 billion monthly active users (MAUs) in 2020, Facebook is by far the worlds largest social network.

But its massive global footprint did not grow overnight. While Facebook is the most popular social network in many countries, this traction didn’t happen overnight. And in other places, it still has not quite taken off.

To see Facebooks path to domination, we mapped each countrys most popular social network from 2008‒2020. The data was tabulated by Vincenzo Cosenza at Vincos.it by examining annual traffic data from Alexa and SimilarWeb.

Facebook Grows From the Americas to Southeast Asia
What famously started as Mark Zuckerbergs late-night intoxicated project called Facemash—a hot or not type website for students at Harvard University—soon evolved into the worlds predominant social network.

Before 2008, the social network landscape was populated by social network pioneers such as Myspace and Hi5. Googles Orkut was the most popular network in Brazil and India, and Friendster found a foothold in Southeast Asia.

But the Facebook wave came in earnest. By 2009, the social media giant took the title of most popular network for the bulk of the Americas, Europe, South Asia, and Oceania, with Orkut in Brazil being the sole holdout until 2011.

The coronavirus pandemic boosted social media usage around the world, as many people stayed home for weeks or months. Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter are all gaining new users, though not all will benefit equally from 2020s growth.

How many internet users worldwide visit social platforms regularly?

An estimated 3.23 billion people, or 80.7% of internet users worldwide, will use a social network at least once per month in 2020.

Which countries have the largest populations of social media users?

China and India continue to rank first and second. As a result, Asia-Pacific remains the leading region, with 1.89 billion people using social networks in 2020.

Where will the most new users emerge?

China will post the most sizable increase, with 58.3 million more users than in 2019. India will gain 31.8 million social network users, while Brazil will add 10.0 million.

Facebook is often considered the 800-pound gorilla of the social networking market. Its family of apps -- which includes its main app, Instagram, and WhatsApp -- grew its monthly active users 14% year over year to 3.21 billion last quarter. Facebook also shares a near-duopoly with Alphabet's Google in the digital ad market.

However, several major social networks are still growing in Facebooks shadow. Lets take a closer look at three of them, how they withstood competition from Facebook, and what that resilience means for Facebooks long-term prospects.

1. Snapchat
2. Pinterest
3. Tiktok

It is a familiar situation: a compelling discussion develops on Tw­­itter, Facebook or Instagram - it could be about any topic - but instead of working constructively towards a common solution, the tone becomes increasingly aggressive. The rift between the differing opinions grows ever larger. Often, intercultural differences and lack of understanding are the root causes of the conflict. An international research team led by the University of Göttingen now wants to develop a "moderator" using artificial intelligence (AI) that can recognise hate messages in social media and intervene to de-escalate the situation. The Volkswagen Foundation will fund the project for four years from April 2021 with a total of around 1.5 million euros.

There has been a growing change in the style of communication in social media in recent years. This is particularly noticeable when it comes to questions of cultural identity. There is increasing conflict: users become emotional and attack each other; always anxious to emphasise what divides rather than what they have in common. A constructive exchange of information, facts and arguments takes place to a very limited extent. This leads to the well-known phenomena of filter bubbles and echo chambers in social media.

Adweek continued its acquisition spree this morning with the announcement that it has acquired Social Media Week, the 11-year-old events and content company that provides deep insights and data for brand marketers, media and technology companies.

Rather than using aggregated statistics and sentiment analysis, the research team used a qualitative approach to drill down into all the tweets posted around the two case studies, and divided them into key topics, positions, purpose and arguments, in order to determine how users engaged in the debate around sustainability and ethics in fashion.

They found that the two main ethics and sustainability issues raised by social media users were environmental concerns, in the first case study; and labor conditions in the supply chain, in the second. Analysis revealed that only a small proportion of tweets were explicitly critical and that those that were, were actually prompting a relatively sophisticated debate that fashion brands may benefit from engaging meaningfully with.

Although social media is typically filled with posts saying farewell to the past year, this New Year’s looked a little different. While the typical Happy New Year! post could be seen, others used the moment to be serious — or use humor — to reflect upon the difficulties of 2020. The posts ranged from inspirational messages, to serious reflections, and funny memes.

Many physicians have reported being sexually harassed and personally attacked on social media platforms on the basis of their religion, race or medical recommendations, a new joint study from Northwestern University and the University of Chicago revealed.

While the data were collected before the COVID-19 pandemic, the findings highlight the intensity of online harassment, which the authors stated has intensified since the crisis.

According to a news release, the study found one in four physicians reported being personally attacked on social media, including being barraged by negative reviews, receiving coordinated harassment and threats at work and having personal information shared publicly.

Trump was the most searched term among Chinese social media users last year, a report claimed, despite a severe public health crisis that brought the country to a standstill in the first quarter.

As the world faced lockdowns, people restricted themselves to the four walls of their homes, increasing the amount of time they were spending on social media platforms and behind their screens, but this was not necessarily a bad thing. Social media kept the world connected when the harsh reality of the new normal kept everyone physically apart. This magnanimous increase in screen-time presented brands and organizations an opportunity to connect with their audiences like never before. As we look towards 2021, we must understand that 2020 has changed how we will do business forever. Clearly, there are no effective marketing strategies without social media going forward.

In researching the landscape ahead for social media, I spoke with entrepreneur and social media expert Brandon Mimms. Brandon has built over 10 million followers combined across various pages on Instagram, including @USA, @SantaClaus, @Shoes, @NiagaraFalls, and others.

Organic social media traffic is really struggling right now. Reach and engagement numbers are low. For example on Facebook, it's estimated that the average reach for organic content is roughly 5%. One of the reasons is that there is so much content out there.

Using social media is an excellent way to expand your client list, but you have to make sure you approach it in the right way to stand out from the pack. Here are three steps you can start with to put your best digital foot forward and build the connections that will help your business grow.

1. Choose your Channels
2. Build Your Brand
3. Find Your Leads