3 Key Takeaways From Our Q2 Audience Intelligence Reports

The results from our Audience Intelligence Reports for Q2 have incited some interesting conversations amongst our team. For those of you who don’t know, our quarterly Audience Intelligence Report provides an overview of exactly who is engaging with our clients across their social media channels and websites. We use this data to help tailor the content and messages that we post on each channel more appropriately.

Check out a sample of our Audience Intelligence Report here.

What did we uncover this quarter?

1. Instagram engagement from 18-24 year olds has slowed down

Looking at follower distribution by age, 18-24 year olds now only make up 10% of followers on each of our clients’ Instagram accounts. Instagram was once flooded with young adults, so what’s changed?

The Emergence of TikTok

Gen Z has embraced TikTok’s unique blend of short-form video content, creative tools and viral challenges turning it into the cultural phenomenon it is today. The platform’s rapid growth reflects Gen Z’s preference for visual and interactive content, reshaping how we use social media. TikTok is closing in on 1.8 billion users by the end of this year with 44.7% of those users aged 13-27.

How Gen Z Consumes Media

Remember when you used to gather as a family in front of the TV each night and watch a show or movie together? Most Gen Z’s probably won’t. The way Gen Z consumes media is very different to the traditional formats older generations have been used to. Social media has become Gen Z’s source of entertainment and media consumption. A number of Gen Zers will even watch TV shows on TikTok or YouTube.

Following Habits Have Changed

Gen Z still makes up over 50% of Instagram users so they’re still on the platform, but their user habits are changing. Instagram is becoming more of a source of entertainment rather than inspiration to keep up with its main competitor in TikTok.

Gen Zers will watch and engage with your content, but they’re loyalty to follow isn’t as strong. They like to feel connected to people rather than brands. They are also incredibly brand conscious, wanting to associate themselves with brands that share their values.

2. Users are most active in the mornings and late evenings

It seems like an obvious one, but it’s important to keep on top of it in case it does change. Across all platforms – Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc. – we’ve found our clients’ users are most active at the start of the day (i.e. before work or school) and when they are winding down at the end of the day.

3. Feed placements are still just as important as Reels for Meta video ads

Even with the rise of Reels engagement across Meta, the Feed is still the most used ad placement for video content. What does this tell us? It’s important to have the right video specifications for all video placement types.

For example, a video in the vertical 9:16 ratio (Reels and Stories) will get cut off in the Feed placement because it is too long.

The optimal ratio for the Feed placement is currently 1:1 or 4:5. For a full list of specs for all social media placements, check out this up-to-date guide. 

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