How Social Media News Consumption Impacts PR Strategy

Social media is no longer just used to catch up with family and friends or share quick life updates; it is also an increasingly important and popular news source. A recent Pew Research Study revealed that 54 percent of U.S. adults sometimes get news from social media, and as the relationship between social media and news continues to grow, the patterns we pick up from these findings can help to share content and communicate your message effectively for the most impact.

Facebook and YouTube took the top spots from which Americans regularly get news, with about one-third of U.S. adults relying on each of these two sites according to the study.

The demographic differences covered in the study vary from platform to platform and emphasize the importance of target audience research in the planning stages of your strategic campaign and social media analysis to pinpoint the channels where your message will be best received.

Women dominate news consumption on platforms like TikTok, with 62 percent of American adults consuming news there, followed by Facebook at 60 percent and Instagram at 59 percent. The study also showed that younger people are gravitating toward the platforms you might expect—Snapchat, TikTok, and Instagram.

If you are a nonprofit seeking to reach women to support your campaign, the demographic data on news consumption on social media can serve as a guide for where your content belongs to reach its intended audience.

An organization may also use these figures to decide where content will perform best in regard to age. Engaging, short-form videos on Instagram and TikTok might work best to capture younger audiences, while a concentrated effort on Facebook and X can extend your message to older audiences who are using these platforms regularly.

Additional findings from the study suggest that branching out with your content is key if you want to engage with specific target audiences:

• Research indicated that Truth Social and Rumble attract predominantly Republican audiences, while TikTok, Instagram, and Reddit are more aligned with Democratic-leaning news consumers, an important consideration if getting to the feeds of potential voters this Election is top of mind
• Nearly 48 percent of news consumers on WhatsApp identify as Hispanic, which is significantly higher than on any other platform. Consider how you can create culturally relevant messaging and bilingual content for a direct platform like WhatsApp if you are seeking to connect with this demographic.
• Men represent a larger portion of regular news consumers on platforms like Reddit, X, and YouTube, so tailoring your content and messaging on these platforms could increase visibility and growth potential if men are your target.

News consumption on social media will continue to flourish and HMA is here to collaborate with you to leverage the data and patterns to make a plan and create effective content. Give us a call!