South Africa, May 20 -- Brand marketers should be changing their tack to follow these consumers, shifting their chief efforts from website search engine optimisation, more commonly known as SEO, to ensuring their social media is visible online.

First, the evidence

When it comes to South Africa, social media platforms are the go-to for 99.3% of respondents, according to a February 2025 survey by software company Meltwater that looked at internet use among what is estimated to be more than 50-million users.

Search engines, such as Google, didn't even have a podium finish in the survey, although they are still a top search choice. The top three were social media platforms (99.3% of respondents), chat and messaging apps (99%) and email sea...