Digital American Newsletter

Marketers are talking about how social media usage is surging during the pandemic. But, far less attention has been paid to other important changes in Americans’ media consumption.

• Consumers are spending 46% more time reading online news than last year. Local media sites and large news organizations are the big winners, with The New York Times and The Washington Post readership up 50% since January. Partisan news site visits are flat or declining.
• In late 2019, over half of Americans went to social sites for news. Now, only 11% think they are trustworthy information sources.
• Over half of US consumers are streaming more movies and shows than pre-virus.
• 42% of American households are watching more traditional TV.
• 20% of Gen Z, Millennials and Boomers are listening to the radio more than previously.
• Usage of Nextdoor, the hyper local neighborhood platform that is an intriguing combination of yard sale notifications, barking dog complaints and brand advertising surge 73% since January.

 
It’s not clear which trends will last beyond the pandemic. Consumers are most likely to project that their new streaming habits will continue long-term.

Sources: GlobalWebIndex 2020, Kantar 2020, New York Times 2020, Social Media Today 2020

Between 2014 and 2019 consumers’ main reason for using social platforms changed from socializing to information gathering.

5 years ago, 55% of users said staying in touch with friends was their primary motivation for spending time on social sites. By the end of 2019, only 38% gave that answer. The percent of consumers on social networks to meet new people, post personal photos and share details of their daily lives all dropped significantly since 2014.

Why are people using social media now?

Today, the #1 reason is to stay up-to-date on the news. (Yikes!) Additionally, the percent of consumers motivated by finding and researching products, watching sports and promoting their favorite charities have all increased markedly.

Filling spare time and finding entertaining content have remained relatively consistent and strong social media drivers over the years.

Consumers’ evolving views on social are impacting what they post. They have also changed what fills their daily feeds and when they choose to engage.

Sources: GlobalWebIndex 2020

Meme marketing is a small segment of digital marketing, but it is having an increasingly outsized impact. Here are the fast facts you need to know.

60% of smart speaker owners interact with their speakers every day, and 33% have conversations multiple times a day. Many kids use the devices, too, often interacting with them as if they were human. Some even see the speakers as friends and engage in lengthy back and forth discussions.

As of December 2019, roughly 30% of US households had a smart speaker. While ownership increases with family income, it is more consistent across generations than most other technologies.

Future smart speaker purchases are hard to project. Almost 50% of consumers say privacy concerns are holding them back. They are worried about everything from their conversations being recorded to personal information being collected for targeted advertising.

Not that anyone is tracking consumers’ smart speaker usage, but reliable data shows that the top activities for smart speakers include getting answers to general questions, accessing weather/traffic/sports/travel updates and streaming music. Only 13% of consumers say finding local businesses is a top use of their speaker, and 10% assert the same about ordering food or services.

Sources: Civic Science 2020, Common Sense 2019, Comscore 2020, Mobile Marketer 2020, Mashable 2019, NPR/Edison Research 2020