Nairobi — Social media reach has tripled in the past seven years, overtaking the traditional media which is playing catch up.
This was revealed in an IPSOS media survey whose results were released on Tuesday.
The Kenya Media Establishment Survey 2022 revealed that mobile devices have been the major disruptor in the media landscape with an increase in ownership from 79 per cent to 95 per cent while smartphone ownership has grown from 19 per cent to 51 per cent.
Speaking during the launch, IPSOS in Kenya Managing Director Chris Githaiga said that Kenya has witnessed accelerated growth and diversity in media touch points since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We found out that internet use has more than tripled from 13 per cent to 46 per cent mainly driven by social media. We also discovered that social applications such as Facebook, Twitter, and Google are debasing more quickly as newer applications like Betting, TikTok, Telegram and Opera become more attractive to the youth," he said.
Githaiga said that this survey will play a big role in helping organizations keep pace with the changing consumer needs and habits.
"It is my belief that the audience data we are providing is a critical ingredient in the decision making as well as allows media, advertisers, agencies to keep pace with the changing consumer needs and habits to adapt accordingly," the MD said.
The survey shows a sharp rise in access to radio through mobile phones and a decline in access through radio sets.
The print media on the other hand has been slowly transitioning to the digital space.
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The study also shows that television set ownership has increased from 32 per cent to 53 per cent while digital TV adoption has pushed pay stub ownership from 10 per cent to 28 per cent.
Ipsos Audience Research Manager Barnabas Muya said, in the economy sector, financial services are deepening with mobile phones dominating with about 71 per cent of Kenyans using non-banking services, 38 per cent saving through mobile money, and 30 per cent using mobile banking.
"About 17 per cent of Kenyans have access to financial loans out of which 7 per cent access credit facilities through mobile phones, 4 per cent from family and friends while 3 per cent use table banking," he said.
Muya said advertising spending on the hand continued to grow since 2015 with 2021 data estimated at Sh7 billion a month as many organizations seek to maximize return on their marketing budgets.
"Knowing your audience, understanding the issues they face, and being aware of what they think about society - and your media organization in particular - are important factors for fine-tuning what you offer in order to better inform the public debate," Ipsos noted.
The Media Establishment Survey is meant to help the media and organizations to produce better content that is more focused on audience needs and generate new ideas for producing audience-related programs and material.
The last media establishment survey in Kenya was conducted in 2015 at the advent of broadcasting in Kenya moving from analog to digital transmission.
