Smartly.io, the leading social advertising automation platform for creative and performance marketers, today announced new research underscoring the role social media continues to play in how consumers shop and remain connected in a world changed by the pandemic. Conducted by Dynata, the global survey of 1,000 consumers in the U.S., UK, Germany, and Australia, explored consumer sentiment around social media today — lending insights for brands to consider for their advertising strategies.

Now more than ever, brands are seeking ways to stay relevant. Marketers must be prepared for every possible scenario as they face varying stages of reopening across regions, as well as a range of preferences from consumers. According to the Smartly.io survey, consumers are still relying on social media to stay in touch. Specifically, more than half (56%) of global respondents and 64% of those in the UK said they are using social media to connect with friends and family.

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“Consumers are anticipating a return to normalcy, which reflects their eagerness to spend”

Facebook remains the most popular social media platform. More than one-third of global consumers (38%) said they have used Facebook the most during the past 30 days, followed by YouTube (18%), and Instagram (15%). Additionally, global consumers are most open to receiving video ads on social media right now (27%), followed by photo carousels (23%), and Stories (19%).

“Consumers are anticipating a return to normalcy, which reflects their eagerness to spend,” said Robert Rothschild, CMO, VP & Global Head of Marketing, Smartly.io. “For brands, social media provides an opportunity to reach targeted consumers in an impactful way. To be successful, marketing teams must balance their strategy to align with current consumer preferences across platforms, formats, and audiences. Relevant, localized and timely content will be key to winning share in a competitive marketplace.”

Additional key findings from the Smartly.io study include:

• Even a year later, pandemic fatigue hasn’t hit consumers yet
  • More than half of global consumers (51%) said they still want brands to acknowledge the pandemic in their ads (for example, safety measures, updated store hours, etc.).
• Consumers are opening their wallets…
  • 35% of global consumers said the social media ads they encountered in the last 30 days have spurred them to make a purchase online, up from 26% in August 2020 (when Smartly.io previously surveyed consumers).
  • 38% of global consumers said they would be most open to purchasing clothing/apparel via social media in the next 30 days.
• …but are still motivated by deals and discounts
  • 45% of global respondents said they would like to see ads with deals and discounts from travel brands.
  • This is particularly high in Australia, where 59% of respondents said they’re looking for deals and discounts from travel brands’ advertising.
  • 55% of global respondents said they would like to see deals and discounts in advertising from grocery stores, followed by local offers from nearby stores (42%).

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