ListenFirst Finds Social Engagement for Media and Healthcare Is Growing

NEW YORK, April 3, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- ListenFirst, the most comprehensive social analytics solution, today released three social media special reports, illustrating how Covid-19 has impacted social media consumption habits. In separate reports for Retail, Healthcare, and TV & Film, ListenFirst examines how the global pandemic has changed consumer behavior and identifies strategies for brands to stay relevant in the long-term while also remaining agile as events unfold.

While social media engagement was flat in March 2020 compared to March 2019, TV, Healthcare, Food brands, and Alcoholic Beverages have seen the largest increases in engagement. The active conversation around the coronavirus on social media has so far peaked on March 12, 2020 with 24,191,103 new Tweets and Reddit posts, and has steadily declined though there is still an average of 15 million combined Tweets and Reddit posts per day mentioning the coronavirus through the end of March 2020.

Social media reaction to the coronavirus has evolved, with consumers becoming less fearful and more angry about the coronavirus. During the month of January 2020, 20% of the Tweets mentioning the coronavirus expressed the emotion of Fear with 1% of those Tweets expressing Anger. By the week ending March 29, 13% of Tweets mentioning the coronavirus expressed Fear and 5% expressed Anger.

"While the coronavirus has severely limited the types of social media opportunities that are appropriate for brands, we are seeing a number of success stories for companies that are using social media to show how they're helping out those most affected," explains Tracy David, Chief Marketing Officer, ListenFirst. "Brands can use this time to build brand equity, and efforts such as donating supplies or medical equipment is both the right thing to do and a positive influence on customer loyalty."

Top social media highlights from Healthcare, TV & Film, and Retail include:

Top Insights for Healthcare

• Hospitals had a +242% higher social engagement score during the week ending March 29, 2020 compared to the average in January and February. Social engagement score includes the volume of reactions, comments, shares, retweets, likes, fan growth, mentions on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.  
• Posts emphasizing community cooperation are driving the highest levels of engagement for hospitals. Posts featuring hospital staff holding signs encouraging users to stay home and flatten the curve have become a popular trend among hospitals. Brigham and Women's Hospital saw +408% increase in Social Engagement Score week over week after its staff's #StayHome message earned 16K responses.

Top Insights for TV & Film

• Audience engagement with TV content has increased on social media. Social engagement for TV shows increased by +14% the week ending March 29, 2020 compared to the average in January and February. TV Shows driving the largest movement in ListenFirst Interest Score (volume of conversation and search) the week ending March 29 are soon to be released Defending Jacob from Apple TV+ and Solar Opposites from Hulu, and recently released shows including Making the Cut from Amazon Prime Video and Netflix's Tiger King. Late-Night TV Shows are also seeing increased social engagement, particularly as hosts have started taping shows from home.
• With no new theatrical releases, the film industry posted -22.62% less on social media between March 9-29, 2020 compared to the average volume of posts from film studios in January and February. On social media, Netflix's The Platform and early SVOD releases such as The Invisible Man from Universal Pictures, Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey from Warner Bros., and Disney's Onward are driving the highest ListenFirst Interest Scores (volume of conversation and search).

Top Insights for Retail

• Retailers have been posting less during the coronavirus, seeing a -16% drop in posts between March 9-29, 2020, compared to the three weeks prior (February 17 - March 8, 2020) and seeing a -23.28% drop in content responses (likes, reactions, comments, shares) during the same time period.
• Retailers that are standing out on social media are those that are showing how their brands are pitching in. Nordstrom generated 77,375 responses on a Facebook post where the brand announced it was helping to sew hospital masks, while Crocs generated 46,607 responses on an Instagram post announcing it was giving away pairs of shoes to healthcare professionals.

To download the reports, please visit:
Retail Special Report: Social Media in the Time of Coronavirus
TV & Film Special Report: Social Media in the Time of Coronavirus
Healthcare Special Report: Social Media in the Time of Coronavirus

About ListenFirst
ListenFirst is the social analytics solution trusted by the largest companies in the world. We unite billions of consumer signals from every social platform to give brands a complete picture of their performance and the analytics to drive successful strategies. Founded in 2012, ListenFirst has been honored with multiple accolades including a 2019 Stevie Awards for exceptional client service, a 2019 High Performer recognition from G2 Crowd, and named one of Inc. 500's fastest growing companies. ListenFirst clients include NBCUniversal, Hackensack Meridian Health, Amazon, A&E Networks, Condé Nast, and AT&T, and is regularly featured in Variety, Ad Age, The New York Times, and more. For additional information, visit www.listenfirstmedia.com. 

SOURCE ListenFirst

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