Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, SnapChat, TikTok, Medium, Spotify, YouTube, WeChat, what’s next?
Sometimes the list of social media trends seems endless. How do you optimize your content to best fit different social media platforms? What platforms should you even be on? And finally, how do you adapt to the new platforms as they roll out?
Later on in chapter 3, I’ll discuss optimizing your content for different standard platform formats, but before getting to that, this section will help you stay current in an ever-changing field by showing you places to go to find out about new trends in the social media landscape. Then I’ll discuss a couple of new or upcoming platforms and how you could use them to encourage interest in your science – with examples of others who have already done so.
Resources:
Luckily, there are many individuals and organizations who regularly publish data on social media trends so you don’t have to wonder about what’s popular. Below is a list of resources I regularly turn to. Some of these you can even subscribe to so that you can get regular updates in your email inbox.
Statista: has a number of reports, statistics and insights relating to digital media, social media and internet trends. The site offers a large number of free reports, and social media statistics can be found in both Canadian official languages, unlike many of the other resources in this area. It also offers a global look at digital media use, with statistics available beyond a North American context. Statista can be found at this link (french: statista.com, english: statista.com).
Pew Research: Offers up to date research on a wide variety of topics, including the internet and technology. Pew offers a monthly newsletter, and has many articles with useful insights outlining the changing demographics of internet and mobile use, the rise, fall and popularity of different platforms, and different technology practices around the world. Content on the site consists of short posts, analysis, and longer reports and all the analysis is grounded in rigorous public opinion polling, making Pew one of the most reliable sources to visit for technology insights. It also offers global insights, even though the site is only available in English. Pew research on the internet and technology can be found at this link (pewinternet.org).
The Social Media Lab: For reports related to Canada-specific trends, the social media lab at Ryerson University has a series of useful reports and statistics available that are specific to the Canadian public. Their State of Social Media report gives a good overview of the most popular social media platforms in Canada, allowing you to make informed decisions about how to communicate your science online to Canadians. This site is currently available in English and can be found at this link (socialmedialab.ca).
This may seem like a lot to keep track of. The good news is that you don’t need to communicate your science on all possible current and future platforms. Next, I’ll show you how to choose which platforms to focus on. Later, in part 5 of chapter 3, you’ll learn how to tailor your content for different platforms.