Global: What types of brands do consumers most like to follow online?
According to new YouGov research, a plurality of consumers in North America (18%) enjoy following tech companies on social media, as do 26% of consumers in the Asia-Pacific region. Indeed, Samsung has one of the highest Facebook follower counts on the platform. In Europe, 12% enjoy following tech firms, bested only by the 15% who enjoy following sports teams.
Enjoyment around following sports teams on social media is high in North America (17%) and the Asia Pacific (20%).
As travel ramps back up in the waning days of the pandemic, tourism and hospitality companies claim the third spot in North America (15%), Europe (11%), and APAC (21%).
In Great Britian, sports teams reign supreme, with 15% of consumers indicating they enjoy following them on social media, followed by tourism companies (10%) and video game companies (8%). Similar rankings appear in the United States – 11% enjoy following sports teams, 7% like video game brands and 6% enjoy tourism brands.
Speaking of tourism, that is the only type of business that women are more likely than men to enjoy keeping up with on social media (18% vs. 14% of men.) Men over-index in all other categories, with sports teams (252%), tech companies (24%) and video game companies (16%) rising to the top among men around the world.
Looking at the data along age brackets, we see video game companies rise to the top spot among those 18-24 (25%), closely followed by tech companies (24%) and sports teams (21%). Tech companies are the most well-liked among almost all other age groups, including those 25-34 (23%), 35-44 (21%), 45-54 (18%). Sports teams top the list for those over 55 (13%).
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Methodology: The data is based on the interviews of adults aged 18 and over in 18 markets with sample sizes varying between 528 and 2,002 for each market. All interviews were conducted online in January 2021. Data from each market uses a nationally representative sample apart from Mexico and India, which use urban representative samples, and Indonesia and Hong Kong, which use online representative samples.