More on social media trends: What you need to know

As social media marketers, we always have to stay on top of latest trends, right? Introducing the latest social media report: "Social Media in the US" by GWI.

The report analyzes the latest social media trends in the United States. You can view the full report by clicking here.

To obtain the information, GWI said "Figures in this report are drawn from GWI’s online research among internet users aged 16-64. Please note that we only interview respondents aged 16-64 and our figures are representative of the online populations of each market, not its total population."

The sample size drew "insights from GWI’s Q3 2021 wave of research across 47 countries, with a US sample of 24,692 respondents."

Here are the key insights in the report:

• Social engagement is waving. The report from Q1 2021 showed the highest average figures on record for US social media usage. "While engagement has plateaued for younger consumers, our latest Q4 data shows older consumers have kept social media in favor."
• More TikTokers are scrolling away. "Since Q4 2020, the number of consumers using TikTok monthly has grown by nearly 50%. Despite its youthful reputation, engagement has grown most among Gen X (+79%) and baby boomers (+147%). Its popularity doesn’t show any signs of slowing and older consumers will have a leading role.
• New contenders in the messaging space. "Data privacy is a growing focus, with increasing use of privacy-centered DuckDuckGo and encrypted messaging services. With WhatsApp growing in the last year, and Discord and Telegram making big leaps, their engaged messaging communities are a strong option for marketers.
• Stories provide growing interaction opportunities. "While less stories are being posted, the number of consumers swiping up on Instagram stories is on the rise, and Facebook too. With significant growth among Gen X (+24%) and baby boomers (+33%) on Facebook Marketplace/Instagram Shopping, utilizing the latest story tools will help keep platform users engaged.
• Social commerce is on the rise.

Let's take a deeper look into the data.

According to the report, Americans spend an average of 11 minutes less per day on social media than the global average. Users from the Middle East, Africa and Latin America are the most engaging areas.

Americans average about 2 hours, 18 minutes per day on social media. Globally that average is 2:29. Latin America, as well as Middle East/Africa are at 3:34. Europe is the lowest at 2:05.

The most popular social media platform for all those regions is Facebook/Meta. In addition, more than 2 in 5 social media users have at least five social media services.

During the pandemic, social media saw record-breaking engagement levels. As the pandemic has faded, so has engagement for at least some parts of the population, according to the report. For example, GenZ users (those born between 1997 and 2012) have gone from an average of 3 hours, 16 minutes on social media in Q4 2020 to 3:11 in Q4 2021. On the other hand, millennials, Gen-X and baby boomers also had higher engagement in Q4 2021 compared to Q4 2020. Millennials peaked at 2:47 in Q1 2021. That is now 2:42.

As for what apps appeals to what population segments, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok reign supreme for Gen-Zers. Even Twitter is the most popular app for that age group. Facebook remains popular for those older than 25. LinkedIn is popular for those 25-54.

We've learned TikTok's short-form video model has reset the foundation for what's popular and how to be popular on social media. TikTok has expanded the video uploading options to be as long as 3 minutes. But, data shows there is still some value for videos lasting longer than 4 minutes.