by VALERIA PERILLI | Published on May 22, 2020

Still wondering how social media trends are changing due to COVID-19? In today’s blog, we’ll explore the shift in some key trends across Linkedln, Pinterest, Twitter & WeChat.  

With so much uncertainty surrounding the world of work, it’s no wonder that Linkedln’s traffic has exponentially increased as a result of COVID-19. This trend has led to an increase in available advertising inventory, which resulted in more competitive advertising costs. This shift has created an opportunity for many companies, especially small businesses with limited marketing budgets, to elevate the conversation and highlight their inspirational work. While some brands have chosen strategic invisibility to avoid negative brand association, others have joined global conversations, as they shifted in relation to today’s environment. As a result, ‘coronavirus’ has become the no.1 trending hashtag on Linkedln, as searches for ‘remote working’ have tripled in March. Despite companies in IT and financial services actively discussing coronavirus with their communities, many others have decided to centre their message around their company culture, new recruitment process, solidarity, corporate responsibility and productivity, in the effort to remain meaningful to their audiences through empathy, positivity and resilience. 

Similarly, Pinterest’s global engagement hit an all-time high during the last week of April, with their search volume increasing by 80% compared to the same week last year. The platform has reported a 220% increase in organic video views YoY (particularly driven by food and beverage, beauty, DIY, entertainment and home décor), and a 70% increase in Pinners’ engagement with their own boards. This means that people are going back to purchase products they had saved, make recipes, etc. – actively turning their inspiration into action. Moreover, searches for ‘support small businesses’ are up all around the world (i.e. +3124% in Australia, +746% in the US, and +459% in the UK).  

On the Twitter front, the total of daily active users has reached approximately 164 million, being up 23% from 134 million in Q1 of 2019. In addition to that, 1 in 5 Twitter users have increased their time playing video games from their phones (16%), listening to music (23%), video-calling family and friends (27%) and using social media (37%). While Twitter’s purpose has always been to connect people and allow them to share their thoughts with a big audience, it is now more than ever before a viable vehicle to engage in conversations with your audiences, driving informative discussions, and performing active listening.  

Another interesting trend can be observed in China, across the luxury industry. As international luxury houses saw their retail sales drop as a result of COVID-19, they had to exclusively engage their Chinese audiences online. And so, they turned to WeChat, and moved their pre-planned shows to live-streaming events and used celebrities and influencers to present their products live to entertain their followers during lockdown. Despite being agile enough to jump on this live-streaming trend – which was already favoured by the Chinese audience – some brands strategically built on the rise of national pride in China. As locals felt unfairly blamed for how China handled the coronavirus outbreak, international brands risked losing market share to local designers, and therefore used their influence to publicly show support for China through social media.  

In conclusion, even if it seems easier to pause all employer brand communications during times of crisis, this is not the right call for those companies who are looking to establish a long-lasting and meaningful connection with their audience. People are eager for information and engagement and are turning to social media to stay informed and connected more than ever before – creating a chance for brands to step up, reassuring their audience with positivity and promoting their brand message with empathy. 

 

References 

  1. Pinterest Newsroom, 2020. April Insights: Global Micro-Trends Of Quarantine Life. [online] Pinterest Newsroom. Available at: <https://newsroom.pinterest.com/en/post/april-insights-global-micro-trends-of-quarantine-life> [Accessed 20 May 2020]. 
  2. Twitter, C., 2020. Twitter Withdraws Q1 Guidance Due To COVID-19 Impact. [online] Prnewswire.com. Available at: <https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/twitter-withdraws-q1-guidance-due-to-covid-19-impact-301028477.html?tc=eml_cleartime> [Accessed 20 May 2020]. 
  3. South China Morning Post. 2020. How Luxury Brands Are Adapting To Post-Coronavirus China. [online] Available at: <https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/luxury/article/3074893/coronavirus-china-luxury-brands-turn-wechat-ai-and> [Accessed 20 May 2020].