The following social media statistics for Western Australia should help to make you better informed when developing a 2021 marketing strategy for your brand.
We’ve sourced the very best stats from the 2020 Yellow Social Media Report. The results show that we certainly love to use social media in WA!
This post is packed full of juicy info that your brand needs to know. While businesses are embracing social media, they’re equal parts concerned about negative reviews and community management.
While it may seem strange to younger users, Facebook continues to dominate as WA’s favourite social media platform.
Let’s dive into some of the stats!
General social media stats
How exactly are we accessing our social media profiles and what devices do we love?
- 56% of Australians use the internet more than 10 times a day.
- 27% do so in excess of 20 times a day.
- The average number of internet-enabled devices owned is 3.3.
- 31% claim the amount of time they spend on social media use has increased in the last year. 13% say it has decreased.
Social media usage
- The most popular times for using social media are in the evening (59%) and first thing in the morning (58%).
- More than one in three people check social media on breaks from work (39%), and 33% use social media during lunch.
- 31% of people check social media more than 10 times a day, and 79% check at least once a day.
- 37% of women check social media at least 10 times a day compared to 25% of men.
- Younger generations check social media the most – 55% of those aged 18-29 check social media at least 10 times a day.
- The average user accesses Facebook 29 times a week, Instagram 28 times a week and Snapchat 27 times a week.
- The most popular place for Australians to check social media is at home (94%).
- Most people do it in the lounge room (77%), the bedroom (55%) or the study (25%).
- 64% check social media while watching TV. 28% of those are posting about what they’re watching.
- 29% access social media at work, including 40% of those aged 18 to 50.
- 17% of people use social media in the toilet. This is more likely among those aged 18-29 (32%) and 30-39 (29%).
- 27% use social media while they commute. Australians also log in at restaurants, bars and parties (18%) and in the car (16%).
Who gets their news from social media?
- Most people place more trust in news they see on traditional media (70%) than social media (14%).
- Those aged 18-29 (26%) and 30-39 (25%) place more trust in what they see on social media than other age groups.
- More than one in three people (35%) said they’ve reacted to something on social media they later found out was fake news – only slightly higher than in 2018 (33%).
- This is more common among women than men (40% vs 28%) and among those aged 18-29 (52%) and 30-39 (42%).
WA’s favourite platforms
- 89% of people use Facebook. It remains the most popular social media platform by a significant majority, however this is down slightly from last year (91%).
- YouTube is used by over half of Australians (54%) and it’s the second most popular platform among men.
- 45% of respondents use Instagram, which is the second most popular among women.
- One in five Australians use Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Snapchat.
We’re looking forward to seeing how TikTok stacks up against the competition after a huge year!
That’s a pretty good insight into how we’re using social media in our personal lives, but let’s get down to business.
How are businesses using social media?
- Facebook is used by 90% of SMBs, which has remained consistent for a number of years now. This is by far the leading platform used regardless of business size or location.
- Around one in three use LinkedIn (33%) and Instagram (32%), with YouTube (25%) and Twitter (22%) next most popular.
- No other form of social media is used by more than 8% of SMBs.
- Only 36% of SMBs have a strategic plan for social media.
- Almost half the SMBs (45%) surveyed monitor or update their social media accounts at least once a day. 80% do so at least one a week.
Why do businesses use social media?
- Almost two thirds of SMBs (63%) use social media channels to engage in two-way conversations with customers and contacts.
- Other reasons for using social media include promoting the business (33%), creating awareness and exposure (28%) and generating sales (17%).
While it certainly seems like businesses are loving social media, there are still things that SMBs are finding frustrating.
- Negative comments or reviews cause the greatest concern to SMBs (22%).
- Other concerns and frustrations include dealing with technology-related issues (11%), the time and resources required to manage social media (11%), and how to effectively target customers (9%).
- 19% of SMBs say they find nothing frustrating about using social media.
Social media stats for advertising
We’re all used to seeing ads on social media, but the numbers behind WA advertising may surprise you.
- 37% of SMBs say they have paid to advertise on social media.
- This is more common among medium-sized businesses than in small businesses (44% vs 34%) and in metropolitan areas compared to rural areas (41% vs 31%).
- Facebook (83%) is the most popular platform to use for advertising, beating out Instagram (22%), LinkedIn (16%) and Twitter (12%).
- Around 80% of SMBs say social media is an effective advertising tool.
- 37% of SMBs say they offer incentives to current and potential customers via social media.
- Discounts (67%) and giveaways (45%) are the most common types of incentives offered.
- Only 5% of SMBs say they’ve paid social influencers to promote their business.
- However, 61% of those that have said the tactic was successful.
Community management for businesses on social media
We all know how important community management and moderating comments is on social media, but are WA businesses doing enough?
- 65% of SMBs invite customers to leave online comments, ratings or reviews.
- 62% of SMBs engage with those who provide feedback, ratings and reviews.
- The most common ways to keep track of feedback is by manual process (46%) or through statistics and analytical tools (26%).
- 27% of medium-sized businesses have a dedicated department or member of staff responsible for tracking feedback.
What’s next for social media?
Good businesses are always looking to the future, and the social media stats show WA is looking straight ahead.
- 50% of SMBs expect to spend the same amount on social media next year as they did in the previous year.
- 16% indicate that they will be spending more, while 9% believe they will spend less.
- 63% believe investing in social media will lead to increased sales over the next 12 months.
- On average, SMBs expect their social media spend will increase sales by 12%.
