1. What were the top three social media sites, in terms of traffic, in 2019-20? List them in order of popularity.

According to dreamgrow.com the top three social media sites of 2019 and 2020 are 1.) Facebook 2.)YouTube and 3.) Instagram.

2.) Provide a brief summary of how each social media site works and why people use it.

Facebook works by allowing people to stay connected with each other and post virtually anything they want to. People use Facebook to stay in touch with distant friends and family and to even catch up on news. YouTube works by allowing users to be creative and express themselves through videos that are then posted for the world to see. Most people use YouTube as a way to keep them entertained. I personally have stopped watching T.V. and started watching YouTuber’s for entertainment. Those who create videos are typically what are called Let’s Player’s who record themselves playing a popular video game while commentating over it. Instagram is one of those interesting forms of social media where anything goes. Unlike Facebook, Instagram is more geared towards imagery. The platform only allows you to post photos but that hasn’t stopped users from getting creative with what they post. Most of what is posted are what’s called memes which are funny, often relatable posts that implement photos and funny captions.

3. What are “demographics” and why is it important in social media?

According to sproutsocial.com User demographic statistics for any social media network are an essential piece of data for any marketing strategy. Just like how you want to know who uses your products and services, knowing who’s on what platform aids you in researching, advertising and marketing decisions. It is important in social media because you want to make sure that people within your ideal target audience are actually participating actively there. Social media demographics help you set up marketing personas and understand your audience in greater detail. If you’re looking to widen your audience, such as trying to reach Generation Z, you can use current demographic data to figure out which networks you can focus your content energy on.

4. Explain any demographics that stand out among the three social media sites you listed above. (More popular with a specific age group, are majority of users male or female, married or single, employees or self-employed, etc.)

According to sproutsocial.com 75% of its users are between the age of 18-24 and 57% of its users are between the ages of 25-30. While surprisingly 47% of its users are between the ages of 30-49.

5. On average, how much time do users spend on each social media site during a day, week or month? Provide a resource that supports your answer.

According to review42.com The average US adult spends 38 minutes per day on Facebook. 16-24 year olds spend a media of 3 hours a day on social media. broadbandsearch.net says that people on average spend 40 minutes a day watching YouTube videos while having over 30 million daily active users and over 1.5 billion monthly active users. BroadandSearch.net also says that people on average spend 53 minutes a day on Instagram while having about 500 million daily users and over 800 million monthly users.

6. Which of the three social media networks is growing the fastest? Why do you think that is?

According to x-cart.com Over the last few years, Instagram has evolved from a simple photo-sharing app into a powerful marketing tool. It’s considered to be the fastest-growing social media platform with the most engaged user base. I believe the reason why that is is because a lot of people use Instagram not just to post photos and gain likes but to also use it market products. As an Instagram user myself, over the past two years I have found that I am getting a lot more ads on products I have either never heard of before or ones that I have searched up on a different platform. Companies have that because most of Instagram’s users are teens and young adults it is easier and quicker to grow their business due to their large active user base.

7. How are the majority of visitors accessing these three sites (computer, mobile device, tablet)?

According to statista.com 98.3% of users access Facebook through any kind of mobile device while less than 1.7% access it through a laptop or desktop computer. According to thinkwithgoogle.com 3 in 4 adults report watching YouTube at home on their mobile devices. Since Instagram is only available for mobile devices, all of their users are on mobile.