“The social media landscape is ever evolving. No longer is social media simply a place for connecting with friends and family. Now, it has emerged as a place where business gets done. With the days of Myspace a distant memory and ‘content creator’ and ‘influencer’ now legitimate job titles, brands must focus renewed efforts on cultivating and maintaining a strong social media presence aligned with their consumers’ interests at heart. Occupying social media incorrectly is not an option.”
– Candace Baldassarre, Research Analyst
Key issues covered in this Report
- Social media engagement and usage.
- Content creation and the term ‘content creator’.
- Following and engaging with social media influencers.
- The impact of influencers on purchases across categories.
- Engaging with products and brands over social media.
- Responding to brands’ social media posts.
- Consumers’ attitudes towards social media.
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Overview
- What you need to know
- Key issues covered in this Report
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Executive Summary
- Top takeaways
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Market Overview
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- Figure 1: Category outlook: social media trends and spotlight on content creators, 2023-28
- Opportunities
- Careers in creating content
- Seeking value over social media
- Challenges
- You are who you post
- Facebook is faltering
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Market Factors
- Contending with increased costs of living
- Television and radio broadcasting are on chopping block
- The Times They Are A-Changin’ at Twitter
- Figure 2: Twitter Twitter post, 2022
- Getting meta about Meta
- Figure 3: Mark Zuckerberg Instagram post, 2022
- Things are ‘heating’ up at TikTok
- Creator funds in Canada
- Regulating social media
- Bill C-11
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Competitive Strategies
- Making podcasting more accessible
- Content paywalls create new opportunities
- Figure 4: Linktree Instagram post, January 2023
- Influencer-brand collaborations: the influencer trip
- Figure 5: Alix Earle Instagram post, January 2023
- Challenging idealized influencers
- Figure 6: GoodLife Fitness Instagram post, December 2022
- Gen Z wants to BeReal
- Authenticity over all
- Figure 7: Thebirdspapaya Instagram post, December 2022
- ChatGPT and AI-generated content
- Figure 8: openaidalle Instagram post, December 2022
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Fast Facts: Social Media Trends and a Spotlight on Content Creators
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Social Media Engagement and Usage
- Friends and family come first
- Figure 9: Types of content engaged with on social media, 2022
- Challenging news, Netflix and cable
- Enormous gender differences
- Figure 10: Types of content engaged with on social media, men vs women, 2022
- Age drives multiplicity of content engaged with
- Figure 11: Types of content engaged with on social media, by age, 2022
- Les Québécois interagissent avec moins de contenu
- (Quebec engages with less content)
- Figure 12: Types of content engaged with on social media, Quebec vs overall, 2022
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- Figure 13: Types of content engaged with on social media (select), English-speaking Quebecers vs French-speaking Quebecers, 2022
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- Figure 14: Brick Warehouse Instagram post, January 2023
- Daily use by platform: Facebook still has it
- Figure 15: Daily social media usage, 2022
- Significant interplay of age and gender
- Figure 16: Daily social media usage, men vs women, 2022
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- Figure 17: Daily YouTube usage, by age and gender, 2022
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- Figure 18: Daily social media usage, by age, 2022
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- Figure 19: Daily Facebook and TikTok usage, by age, 2022
- Friends and family come first
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Content Creators and Content Creation
- Facebook then Instagram reign supreme
- Figure 20: Social media activities done in the past six months, 2022
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- Figure 21: Social media activities done in the past six months, men vs women, 2022
- Facebook is underperforming among younger Canadians
- Figure 22: Social media activities done in the past six months, by age, 2022
- Creeping, lurking or posting?
- Figure 23: Social media activities done in the past six months, by those who visit/use each platform daily, 2022
- Parents create more content
- Figure 24: Social media activities done in the past six months, mothers vs fathers with children under 18 in the household, 2022
- South Asian consumers are above-average content creators
- Figure 25: Social media activities done in the past six months, (South Asian vs Overall), 2022
- Content creator is a contentious title
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- Figure 26: ‘I am a content creator’ (% any agree), by type of content created over social media in past six months, 2022
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- Figure 27: Attitudes regarding content creation (% any agree), men vs women, 2022
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- Figure 28: Attitudes regarding content creation (% any agree), by age, 2022
- Content creators: hacking the system
- Facebook then Instagram reign supreme
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Following Social Media Influencers
- Influencers are everywhere
- Figure 29: Chiara Ferragni Instagram post, January 2023
- Figure 30: Statistics Canada Twitter post, April 2021
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- Figure 31: Influencer followers vs non-influencer followers, by age, 2022
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- Figure 32: Influencer categories followed, 2022
- Younger consumers like influencers in all categories
- Figure 33: Influencer followers vs non-influencer followers, women vs men, 2022
- Gendered differences continue through categories followed
- Figure 34: Categories of influencers followed, women vs men, 2022
- Having children means…following influencers?
- Figure 35: Categories of influencers followed, moms vs dads, 2022
- I want to be an influencer when I grow up!
- Figure 36: “I wish I was an influencer” (% any agree), by age and gender, 2022
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- Figure 37: “I wish I had more followers on social media” (% any agree), by age and gender, 2022
- Influence is not even
- Figure 38: Tamu McPherson Instagram post, December 2022
- Influencers are everywhere
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Engaging with Social Media Influencers
- Influencer endorsements impact purchases across categories
- Figure 39: Impact of influencer’s endorsement on purchasing habits, 2022
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- Figure 40: bridget Instagram post, December 2022
- Increased interest in influencer live streaming
- Figure 41: “I like to watch influencer live streams” (% any agree), by age and gender, 2022
- Influencer endorsements impact purchases across categories
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Engaging with Products and Brands
- Seeking value above all else
- Figure 42: Engagement with brands over social media in past six months, 2022
- Brands need a strong social media presence
- Figure 43: “I expect brands to have a strong social media presence” (% any agree), by age, 2022
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- Figure 44: Duolingo Instagram post, January 2023
- Age and gender distinctly impact engagement with brands
- Figure 45: Engagement with brands over social media in past six months, by age, 2022
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- Figure 46: Engagement with brands over social media in past six months, men vs women, 2022
- Free stuff?
- Figure 47: Kylie Cosmetics Instagram post, December 2022
- Higher-income households still like a deal
- Figure 48: Engagement with brands over social media in the past six months (select), by household income, 2022
- Lost in translation
- Figure 49: Engagement with brands over social media in the past six months (select), English vs French-speaking Quebecers, 2022
- Fathers are engaging with brands
- Figure 50: Engagement with brands over social media in the past six months (select), dads vs moms, 2022
- Seeking value above all else
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Consumers’ Responses to Brands’ Posts
- (Don’t just) smash that ‘like’ button: beyond social media engagement rates
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- Figure 51: Actions taken in response to brands’ posts over social media in the past six months, 2022
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- Figure 52: Actions taken in response to brands’ posts over social media in the past six months, by age, 2022
- Young women responding in droves
- Figure 53: Actions taken in response to brands’ posts over social media in the past six months (select), by age and gender, 2022
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- Figure 54: “Reviews on social media are helpful in choosing a product/service” (% any agree), by age and gender, 2022
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Attitudes towards Social Media
- It’s a fine balance
- Figure 55: Attitudes towards social media (% any agree), 2022
- Sneaking in sponsored posts: reviews and collaborations
- Figure 56: Attitudes towards social media (% any agree), by age, 2022
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- Figure 57: Green Giant Instagram post, November 2022
- Figure 58: Meredith Duxbury Instagram post, January 2023
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- Figure 59: “Collaborations between influencers and brands appeal to me” (% any agree), by age of children in household, 2022
- Social media is serious stuff
- Figure 60: Attitudes regarding social media networks (% any agree), by age, 2022
- Let me just check my phone first
- It’s a fine balance
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Appendix – Data Sources and Abbreviations
- Data sources
- Consumer survey data
- Consumer qualitative research
- Abbreviations and terms
- Abbreviations
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