Brands could benefit from publishing engaging news content on social media in 2019 as a fifth of US adults now use Facebook, Twitter and other platforms to keep up to speed with the latest goings on, according to a new study from Pew Research Center.
Social media is now the fourth most popular outlet for news and has overtaken print newspapers this year. While television remains the de facto medium for people eager to the consumer the latest news, it has actually declined in popularity. Just two years ago, 57% used TV, but that dropped to less than 50% in 2018.
Print newspapers are the only other medium that has tracked steadily lower during the last two years. Social media usage rose sharply in 2017 and remained unchanged in 2018, while news websites followed a similar pattern of growth. The oldest medium, radio, is still used by 26% of US adults.
The study said that more people are using connected devices to get news as news websites and social media combined now surpass TV. It means that there has never been a better time for brands to create daily news articles to drive engagement with potential consumers online.
The study noted: “And when looking at online news use combined – the percentage of Americans who get news often from either news websites or social media – the web has closed in on television as a source for news (43% of adults get news often from news websites or social media, compared with 49% for television).”
