UK: Benchmarking social media engagement among people looking to buy soft drinks

Social media is an important gateway for consumers to find out about new products and brands.

A recent study conducted by YouGov

reveals that social media ads (22%) rank as the second most popular channel for British consumers to discover new products, just behind getting recommendations from friends and family (24%).

YouGov tracks engagement with social media daily in order to help consumer goods brands understand just how frequently their audiences are using which social media.

Looking at British consumers who are in the market for soft drinks in the next 30 days, for example, we see that more than half (55%) use Facebook at least once a day, including 46% who use it multiple times a day.

Instagram is the second most popular platform in terms of daily engagement among those who are likely to be shopping for soft drinks. A third (33%) say they use it at least once a day. Notably, younger Brits (18-34 years old) who are in the market for soft drinks are significantly more likely to be engaging with Instagram on a daily basis when compared to other age groups. More than half (53%) use it at least once a day, including 45% who use it two or more times a day.

YouTube is the third most popular platform among potential soft drink shoppers. Over a quarter (27%) of British adults in market for soft drinks say they use it daily, rising to 42% among 18-34's.

Roughly one in nine (12%) potential soft drink shoppers say they use TikTok daily. The short-form video platform tends to be more popular with 18-34's, with 25% saying they use this platform at least once a day or more often.

Leveraging social media with potential customers offers brands opportunities to raise awareness, interact with them in real-time and nurture relationships. Social media users engage with different platforms for various reasons, though, and understanding how often and why your audience is using an app can give you an edge over others.