Digital, social and PR communications company Orchard, has released results from a study looking into how businesses in Guernsey and Jersey are using social media.
Jo Meerveld (pictured), Head of Social at Orchard, said: “While there’s plenty of global insight into how businesses are using social media, there is very little when we look at social media locally.
“We asked Channel Island marketing professionals how they’re structuring their social media teams, which channels they’re investing in and what’s in their 2023 content strategy. These key insights will help us to shape our services to meet the needs of Channel Island businesses.”
The survey which targeted those working in the Channel Islands’ communications sector, found that 32% of small and medium-sized businesses are on TikTok.
“More channels are coming into the corporate communications mix with businesses utilising YouTube, TikTok, and Pinterest. The challenge for small teams”, said Jo, “Is how this demand for more content on more channels is going to be met in-house”.
Video usage is continuing to grow, so we can expect video to play a key role for local businesses in 2023. 92% of respondents said video is in their social media strategy for this year. 46% also said that they are focusing more on short form video, but long form uptake is growing worldwide. According to Adweek, 80% of short videos drive less than a third of total engagement.
Jo commented: “For some years now, social media has focused on short-form video to capture shorter attention spans. This is changing. Younger audiences in particular are watching longer, educational videos. Social media managers need to be aware of how the social media landscape is evolving to get the best results from their campaigns.”
Most local businesses aren’t using influencers in their content mix – 86% of respondents are not using influencers or content creators despite 75% of millennials following influencers on social media, according to Morning Consult.
Only 36% of respondents are using an agency for their social media strategy and 44% don’t have or aren’t sure if they have a social media policy.
“Why does this matter?”, says Jo, “Providing clear guidelines will reduce confusion and help protect your business from a PR crisis and brand dilution. A social media policy can not only protect your company’s reputation, but it can also inspire employees to advocate for the company online.”
