The Privy Council said the average Canadian spends about half of their work day on social media, but with little to no interest on what the federal government has to say online, according to Blacklock’s Reporter. “A very small number commented they seldom used social media or did not use it at all,” said the Privy Council in a report. The Privy Council documented a dramatic rise in the popularity of Twitter, Facebook and other platforms. “Asked how frequently they would use social media on a given day, most estimated their daily usage to be somewhere in the range of three to five hours,” said the Privy Council.“A smaller number described using social media constantly throughout the day.”When it comes to the platforms people use, it said several mentioned Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok, with a smaller number using LinkedIn, YouTube and Snapchat. For most, it said the primary reasons for visiting these platforms were entertainment and communicating with family and friends. It said LinkedIn was used “for professional reasons, including developing skills related to their careers.” Alternatively, it found Twitter and Facebook were used to “frequently react or comment on social media posts from friends, family or public figures and organizations.”Focus group participants said they had little interest in following Canadian government social media accounts. Few participants indicated they would be likely to interact with posts or content from it. “Asked if they would use social media to find information, while a large number indicated they would do so for local events or news pertaining to their communities, few reported using social media to learn more about broader national issues or events,” said the Privy Council.“Very few reported following the Government of Canada or related accounts belonging to specific departments or agencies.”The findings on Canadians’ media habits marked a dramatic change from a study conducted by the Department of National Defence (DND) in 2015 that tracked the most effective placement of recruitment ads. When Canadians were asked what media they frequented almost one decade ago, 87% said they went to their televisions. DND found Canadians were more likely to read a weekly newspaper than visit Facebook. Three-fifths of Canadians said they read the print edition of their weekly newspaper. More than half of them used Facebook. One-tenth used Twitter. This report comes after Alberta Health Services (AHS) considered hiring social media influencers to assist with its advertising to raise awareness about various health topics in December. READ MORE: AHS looked at hiring social media influencers to help with advertisingAHS said it was looking to hire influencers for a campaign called Plan Your Health 2024. AHS admitted it wanted influencers to educate people about how to treat their children at home rather than the emergency room, fitness, quitting smoking, lung cancer screening and Health Link 811. The report was conducted under an $814,741 contract with the Strategic Counsel. Findings were based on focus groups in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Quebec.
The Privy Council said the average Canadian spends about half of their work day on social media, but with little to no interest on what the federal government has to say online, according to Blacklock’s Reporter. “A very small number commented they seldom used social media or did not use it at all,” said the Privy Council in a report. The Privy Council documented a dramatic rise in the popularity of Twitter, Facebook and other platforms. “Asked how frequently they would use social media on a given day, most estimated their daily usage to be somewhere in the range of three to five hours,” said the Privy Council.“A smaller number described using social media constantly throughout the day.”When it comes to the platforms people use, it said several mentioned Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok, with a smaller number using LinkedIn, YouTube and Snapchat. For most, it said the primary reasons for visiting these platforms were entertainment and communicating with family and friends. It said LinkedIn was used “for professional reasons, including developing skills related to their careers.” Alternatively, it found Twitter and Facebook were used to “frequently react or comment on social media posts from friends, family or public figures and organizations.”Focus group participants said they had little interest in following Canadian government social media accounts. Few participants indicated they would be likely to interact with posts or content from it. “Asked if they would use social media to find information, while a large number indicated they would do so for local events or news pertaining to their communities, few reported using social media to learn more about broader national issues or events,” said the Privy Council.“Very few reported following the Government of Canada or related accounts belonging to specific departments or agencies.”The findings on Canadians’ media habits marked a dramatic change from a study conducted by the Department of National Defence (DND) in 2015 that tracked the most effective placement of recruitment ads. When Canadians were asked what media they frequented almost one decade ago, 87% said they went to their televisions. DND found Canadians were more likely to read a weekly newspaper than visit Facebook. Three-fifths of Canadians said they read the print edition of their weekly newspaper. More than half of them used Facebook. One-tenth used Twitter. This report comes after Alberta Health Services (AHS) considered hiring social media influencers to assist with its advertising to raise awareness about various health topics in December. READ MORE: AHS looked at hiring social media influencers to help with advertisingAHS said it was looking to hire influencers for a campaign called Plan Your Health 2024. AHS admitted it wanted influencers to educate people about how to treat their children at home rather than the emergency room, fitness, quitting smoking, lung cancer screening and Health Link 811. The report was conducted under an $814,741 contract with the Strategic Counsel. Findings were based on focus groups in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Quebec.
