The COVID-19 pandemic has changed everything, including the way we use social media.

This past april, Sprout Social reported that their optimal posting times increased significantly due to more people being online. Social media platforms are providing an escape for users, and brands need to give value to survive. Before you plan to execute that social media strategy you developed in 2019, check out these COVID-19 related social media stats. 

COVID-19 Social Media Stats You Need to Know

• “In the US and UK, Gen Z, Gen X and baby boomers all say they’re spending more time checking social media due to concerns around COVID-19.” – Facebook.com
• The hashtag #StayAtHome has been mentioned in over 12M posts on Instagram alone. – Instagram
• Usage of websites on desktop such as Facebook, Netflix and YouTube has skyrocketed since the outbreak first began. – The New York Times

(Graphs from New York Times)

• According to a survey conducted by Influencer Marketing Hub 1 of 4 companies plan to increase their marketing activities.
• “Support Small Business” searches have increased on Pinterest by 351%. – Pinterest.com
• “48% of influencers are reducing their rates for sponsored content, with an average cost savings of 30% for brands.” – Later.com
• 75% of COVID-19 related tweets are retweets. – Twitter.com
• Due to COVID-19, sharing on LinkedIn now has a strong focus on topics like remote working, online learning, and collaboration as well as people shifting their posts from business, to personal stories and insights. – LinkedIn.com
• “80% of consumers in the U.S. and UK say they consume more content since the outbreak, with broadcast TV and online videos (YouTube, TikTok) being the primary mediums across all generations and genders.” – Visual Capitalist
• Pinterest has partnered with Adobe Spark, Over, PicMonkey and Canva in their Pinterest Partners Program to help businesses with Pinterest business accounts create their own content for Pinterest. – Pinterest.com
• Overall web traffic increased by 20% within one week of the quarantine starting. – Small Biz Trends
• LinkedIn has experienced a 55% increase in activity and communication between existing connections. – Tech Crunch
• Twitter conducted a research survey to see what their users wanted to see brands posting during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results show that majority of users still want to hear from brands during the pandemic. – Twitter.com
• “Businesses have refocused their spends to purpose-driven marketing, mission-based marketing and cause-related marketing to better satiate consumers’ increased media consumption while working from home.” – Holland & Knight
• To help small businesses during the pandemic Instagram released the gift card, food order option and fundraiser features on Instagram. – Instagram.com

With all these stats in mind businesses are flocking to social media to connect with customers. If your business is struggling to find content to post during the pandemic, we recommend video tutorials, customer reposts/ reviews, or repurposing old content. Adjust your captions to be positive, helpful, and comforting to your followers. Take the extra time to genuinely engage with your followers and turn your social media into a place they can turn to during this difficult time.