A report published by Ofcom last week has found that the most common reason for going online was to use social media.

According to 64% of respondents to the survey, it was what they went online to do most often. However, the survey also revealed that the landscape for how and where social is used is changing and diversifying.

As such, companies will  need to understand this quickly and effectively, if they are to prosper.

In the current social media environment, many of the big names that arrived relatively early on, such as Facebook and Twitter, are having their collective strength nibbled at by other platforms, particularly Instagram and Vine. Many businesses have recognised this already, but will need to act to not fall behind competitors.

Facebook could be said as already doing this with its ownership of Instagram, of course, but the real winner over recent times has been YouTube.

One of the original big hitters itself, better technologies, mobile connectivity, and enhanced mobile bandwidth has driven the accessibility of video content.

Video only works for some though, with many other social users going in an entirely different direction. The popularity of WhatsApp certainly falls into this bracket and, once again, Facebook has waded in by snapping up that tool too.

Despite having its digital digits in so many pies, Facebook itself is being used less. This by no means is a sign of the imminent demise of social, however.

The rise of other social networks does show how the various platforms appeal to different people. Facebook will no doubt continue to snap up the best performing ones that it can to strengthen its own services.

That said, brands will still need to recognise the constant fluidity in the social media sector. More particularly, perhaps, they also must ensure that they are producing content that engages and provides quality to customers on each platform.

John Murray

John is every inch the wordsmith and loves a game of Scrabble above all else. With experience writing for newspapers, John’s time at university was spent studying Creative Writing – something which comes across in his love of the pun.