What does the latest Statista study titled "Social Media in Africa" mean for marketing strategists whose target audience is in Africa?
First, let's get into the facts presented by the study. Statista surveyed over 10,000 social media users in Africa and this is what they found:
The number of social media users in Africa has grown rapidly in recent years, reaching over 384 million as of 2022. That is more than triple the number of users in 2010!
Facebook is the leading social media platform in Africa, with a market share of over 50%. Facebook also generates the highest traffic referrals for other websites in Africa.
Over 74% of web traffic in Africa was generated through mobile phones. The majority of users in Africa access the internet via their mobile phones.
Social media is used for a variety of purposes in Africa, including communication, entertainment, education, and business. Shopping is a growing use for social media but it's still not how people in Africa use social platforms.
Social media penetration is highest in Northern and Southern Africa, with rates of 56% and 45%, respectively. Central Africa has the lowest social media penetration rate, at only 8%.
The average African social media user spends 2 hours and 42 minutes on social media per day. Nigerian social media users are the most active in Africa, spending an average of 3 hours and 42 minutes on social media per day. South African social media users are the second most active in Africa, spending an average of 3 hours and 37 minutes on social media per day.
59% of social media users in Northern, Eastern, and Western Africa are men. In Southern Africa however, 51% of social media users are women.
The study concludes that social media is playing an increasingly important role in African societies. It is a powerful tool for communication, entertainment, education, and business, and it is expected to continue to grow in importance in the coming years.
What you can do as a marketing expert targeting users in Africa:
Use a mobile-first approach when creating content, websites, and applications. You miss out on 74% of web traffic because your content isn't optimized for mobile viewing
Understand what platforms your target audience uses. Just because Facebook and Whatsapp are the most dominant doesn't mean you focus all your marketing efforts there. It's important to target the platforms that are most popular with your target audience. For example, if you're targeting young people in Nigeria, you might want to focus on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok.
Create relevant and engaging content. African consumers are bombarded with content, so it’s important to create content that is relevant and engaging. Africa is culturally diverse, tailoring your content to appeal to the unique culture, religion, and language of the people in your target region is key.
I hope you found this article informative. If you’re interested in learning more about how to use social media to improve your marketing strategies, I encourage you to follow me on LinkedIn. I regularly share insights and tips on marketing, social media, and entrepreneurship. You can find the full study by Statista here.
Thanks for reading
This text provides general information. Due to varying update cycles, statistics directly from Statista can display more up-to-date data than referenced in the text.
