The use of social networking is now an essential part of business, especially in the field of marketing.
However, blindly using social networking cannot be expected to be effective. Effective operation requires keeping up with the latest trends.
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications' 2021 Telecommunications Usage Trends Survey, the proportion of individuals using SNS among internet users reached 78.7%, an increase of approximately 5 percentage points since 2020.The average usage rate of SNS among people in their teens to 40s is approximately 90%, and the average usage rate among people in their 50s to 70s is approximately 70%, with high usage rates for SNS among almost all generations. SNSs boast high usage rates among almost all generations.
In addition, while social networking has until now been perceived as a tool for the younger generation, the usage rate for those in their 60s and 70s has increased by approximately 10 and 13 percentage points year-on-year respectively, with those in their 70s in particular recording the highest growth rate of all generations.
Until now, SNS marketing has been thought of as a way of disseminating products and information aimed at the younger generation, but these survey results show that SNS marketing is now aimed at all generations.
Furthermore, a look at the purpose of use among SNS users shows that only the item ‘to find information about something I want to know’ has increased by several percentage points year-on-year, while the other items have remained almost unchanged year-on-year.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications conducts this survey every year, and while the points for the other items fluctuate from year to year, the point for ‘to search for information on what I want to know’ has increased every year.
This means that the number of users of social networking services is increasing year by year for all generations, and the number of users who use social networking services for the purpose of gathering information on social networking services is also increasing year by year.
In the more than ten years since social networking services first appeared, social network marketing, which was initially dominated by Twitter, Facebook and LINE, has now become a truly diverse era, with Instagram, TikTok and YouTube in addition to the three major social networking services mentioned above.
The time has come for SNS marketing to be conducted by the right people in the right places. To do this, it is necessary to keep in mind the characteristics and user trends of each SNS and the latest trends.
Trends to consider for operational purposes
As shown in the 2021 Telecommunications Usage Trends Survey by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the number of SNS users for the purpose of information gathering is increasing year by year for all generations, and the number of companies that engage in SNS operation is also increasing in response to the growing trend of SNS users.
When operating an SNS, it is essential to first set the following operational objectives. If the objectives are unclear, the measures to be launched will also tend to be vague, and the desired effect cannot be expected.
The following are some examples of the objectives of SNS: ‘purchase of products and services’, ‘corporate branding’, ‘increase in recognition’, ‘leading to the official website’, ‘interaction with users’, etc.
The most important point is whether the latest trends can be taken into account as well as the setting of operational objectives. duties
In the not-too-distant future, it is likely that everyone will be searching for information on social networking sites in the same way as they do on Google.
As a result, trends will naturally change with the times. Although it is difficult to manage social networking according to all the trends, there are always two or three trends that should be taken into account for the purpose of operation. Being sensitive to trends will also make it possible to operate SNS in a user-friendly manner.
The following are a few items that are likely to become SNS trends in the future, so that you can refer to them in your future SNS operations
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TREND.1
Nano influencers and micro influencers
As a high number of followers does not necessarily mean high engagement, it is expected that nano- and micro-influencers will be more active than top influencers with high costs.
TREND.2
Creating easy-to-understand short videos
Short videos are highly popular on TikTok and YouTube. In line with the current user's taste, user-oriented videos need to be careful about their length. The key is to keep the content of the submitted video short and simple.
TREND.3
Decentralised social networks
Decentralised social networks such as Mastodon may soon replace the current mainstream social networking platforms due to account control and censorship issues.
TREND.4
Risk management
SNSs with strong spreading power are now being used not only for sales promotion but also for risk management. In the event of a problem, the key point is to promptly provide accountability to consumers via SNS.
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