Social media use grows in sub-Saharan Africa

Africa’s marketers face a balancing act in terms of media allocation as a recent survey suggests that more people are spending time with social media than TV but trust what they see on TV ahead of what they find online.

Why it matters

Brands need to be where the eyeballs are, but they also want to appear in a trusted environment that engenders consumer confidence.

The details 

A GeoPoll online survey of 999 people across Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda found: 

• 55% accessed online media channels every day compared to just 23% who watched TV daily (16% radio, 5% newspapers and print media).
• 72% reported using social media more than they did a year ago; 54% said they watched more TV (54% said they are reading less print).
• Respondents trusted ads on TV more than any other channel: 46% of respondents compared to 30% for the internet and 12% for radio.
• Of the social channels, Facebook was the most popular (45% chose it as their favourite), followed by YouTube (15%) and Twitter (14%) 

Final thought 

“In a society that craves reality, lifestyle images and videos of real people such as influencers were the most popular [types of advert], as well as creatively designed banners” – Frankline Mwenda Kibuacha, digital marketing and outreach manager at GeoPoll.

Sourced from The Media Online