Social channels where UK consumers prefer hearing from brands in 2019

The social media channels Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, WhatsApp, Snapchat, Pinterest, LinkedIn and Tumblr are all popular ways for brands to advertise their products to consumers. According to a consumer preference survey carried out in 2019 by Attest, the most preferred channel for consumers across all generations to hear from brands is through Facebook. Facebook was particularly popular among Millennials, with around 67 percent stating Facebook as their preferred channel for hearing from brands. Although older generations also stated Facebook as their preferred channel, there was only a 2.1 percentage points difference between Boomers’ preferences for Facebook over the ‘none’ category.

The power of Facebook

Facebook use in the UK and worldwide has steadily increased over the past few years. It is estimated that by 2022, around 62 percent of the total UK population will be active monthly users of the social channel. The amount of money spent on Facebook advertisement by brands over the past few years has also steadily increased. In 2019, 1.57 billion US dollars was spent on Facebook ads, an increase of 460 million US dollars from the year prior.

Benefits of social media marketing

Among global industry professionals, the most commonly cited benefit of social media marketing is the associated increased exposure. Considering the vast amounts of active monthly users, this comes as no surprise. Global industry professionals also reported increased traffic as a benefit of using social media marketing.