15 quick facts from the Yellow Social Media Report 2018

By Adam Fraser

The Yellow Social Media Report 2018 has been released. It’s a report I look forward to as, as I have previously discussed in 2017, 2016 and 2015, there are lots of stats about global social media usage, but limited stats specific to Australia. Previously branded as the “Sensis Social Media Report” this year Yellow get the naming rights for what is, in my opinion, Australia’s preeminent report on social media usage and habits.

1,516 Australian consumers were sampled this year (increasing from 800 in the prior year) with the survey shifting from a telephone to online methodology. For the purposes of the report, the term social media refers to platforms such as Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, as well as online blogs and online rating and review mechanisms. A separate report covered business use of social media.

There are stats and insights aplenty from the report, but here are 15 highlights for those without the time to read all 47 pages of the detailed document:

1. Almost nine out of ten Australians are now on social media. Penetration is up to 88% (from 79% in 2017 and 69% in 2016) of Australians, an incredible growth rate when many would possibly assess social as having hit maturity,
2. Sixty percent of Australians use the internet more than five times a day. The average number of internet-enabled devices owned is 3.5.
3. Smartphone penetration is 87% which compares with 76% for laptops, 59% for tablets and 52% for desktop computers.
4. The two most popular times for social networking are in the evening (61%) and first thing in the morning (59%).
5. The top four reasons users highlighted for social networking are to catch up with family and friends (85%), to share photos or videos (46%), for news and current affairs (36%) and to watch videos (32%).
6. Nearly all social media users access it at home (94%) with the lounge or living room (78%) and the bedroom (58%) being the two most popular areas of the house where people use it. The toilet was mentioned by 20%!
7. Almost two-thirds use social media while watching TV and this occurs across a range of genres with news, current affairs and reality shows mentioned most. Almost one in three discuss the program on social media whilst viewing. Only 5% primarily watch free-to-air TV replays via social media.
8. More than nine in ten (91%) social media users are on Facebook, accessing the site 37 times a week for 16 minutes each time on average. This translates into an average of nearly 10 hours a week on Facebook (same as indicated in the 2017 survey).
9. Facebook Messenger is used by 79% of social media users, 28% have used Facebook Live to watch live or recently recorded videos with 9% publishing their own live video. Forty-four percent have published videos or pictures via the story function on Facebook (35%), Snapchat (16%) or Instagram (16%).
10. YouTube is the second most popular social media site with usage at 53% ahead of Instagram (39%), Snapchat (23%), LinkedIn (22%), Pinterest (22%), Twitter (19%) and Google+ (13%).
11. Users of Instagram and Snapchat access these sites almost as much as Facebook users access that site – respectively 33 and 36 times weekly on average. Instagram users have many more friends, contacts or followers than Snapchat users – 241 on average compared to 93.
12. The proportion of users follow a social media group associated with a brand or business is 44% (Instagram 44%, Facebook 39%); the types of brands most likely to be followed operate in the fields of holidays/travel/accommodation, entertainment, music and movies/TV shows. The benefits most desired by those who follow brands or businesses are discounts (62%) and giveaways (51%).
13. Social media consumers are inclined to believe it impacts negatively on their privacy, sleeping, concentration, productivity, patience, grammar and spelling.
14. Twenty-three percent use social media for retail research. Items most likely to be researched via social media are movies / TV shows (66%), holidays / travel / accommodation (65%), entertainment (63%) and clothing / fashion items (60%).
15. Over two-thirds of consumers read online reviews and blogs (68%) averaging eight before making a purchase decision.

This is a thorough, professional and comprehensive piece of research on the Australian social media landscape. Having prepared the research since 2012, it is also a good indicator of trends over time. Well worth a read and a great reference doc.