Insights

As professionals, we can always understand the use of social media and how beneficial it can be to job searching, networking and building a brand. It seems that the general public as a whole can also see this use which a large majority of people on at least one social media site.

Facebook has released their top 10 topics for 2014 as the year comes to a close.

 
There are a huge range of topics on the list and it seems that social media is used to discuss mainly current affairs and to air opinions. A lot of the issues centre around a political event, sports or charity. The top ranking topic was the Scottish independence which gained a whopping 3.3 million comments, posts and likes on the polling day itself and a huge 10 million in the five weeks running up to it.

The order of topics of Facebook top 10 is as follows:

1. The Scottish independence referendum
2. The ice bucket challenge
3. The Brazil World Cup
4. The race for the Premier League title
5. The conflict in Gaza
6. The death of Robin Williams
7. Louis van Gaal taking over as manager of Manchester United
8. Ebola virus outbreak
9. Champions League final
10. First World War centenary

However, when it comes to Twitter, the popularity inevitably lies with celebrities. The UK's most followed are:

1. @Harry—Styles  (22.8million)
2. @OneDirection (21.5 million)
3. @OfficialAdele (21.3 million)
4. @Real—Liam—Payne (18.6 million)
5. @Louis—Tomlinson (18 million)
6. @EmWatson (15.4 million)
7. @Zaynemalik (13.5 million)
8. @Coldplay (13.5 million)
9. @BBCBreaking (12.4 million)
10. @EdSheeran (11.2 million)

In fact, the list above predominantly focuses on music stars, with the exception of Emma Watson and the BBC. With the addition of a news profile in the top followed accounts it does show that we are using Twitter to be kept up to date with the latest news and current affairs - this also follows on from the list of Facebook discussions.

This is definitely something to bear in mind when job searching too - using social media is a fantastic tool to keep up to date with the latest vacancies, changes and market trends.

For more information, or for a copy of our Linked IN guide, please contact me at Victoria.blackwell@sellickpartnership.co.uk or on 0113 243 9775.