The 2019-20 social media strategy led to engaged audiences on more platforms, delivering more Australian traffic to the SBS website, and providing a space to build trust with deeper audience connections. This strategy has so far increased engagement on key platforms by 39 per cent and delivered over 16 million Australian unique visitors to the SBS website.¹

SBS maintains multiple accounts across seven social media platforms, reflecting SBS’s commitment to connect with a diverse range of audiences and communities, wherever they are.

SBS maintained a strong presence on Facebook and Twitter with frequent posts, bespoke short-form videos, and live social coverage of global and local breaking news, as well as SBS broadcast events including the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras and Eurovision – Australia Decides.

Facebook remains SBS’s primary social media platform. In 2019-20, SBS published more than 161,000 Facebook posts, generating more than 35 million engagements.

Key SBS brands have also contributed to increased output on YouTube, Instagram, and LinkedIn. SBS’s Instagram accounts saw a 39 per cent increase in total engagement, led by SBS News, SBS Australia, NITV, and SBS Food. On YouTube, SBS Australia’s account has almost doubled its Australian views, boosted by content including SBS On Demand trailers and SBS Sport’s NBL match recaps.²

In 2019-20, SBS’s social media channels delivered a 21 per cent increase in Australian unique visitors to sbs.com.au, boosted by exceptional and long-running news events such as the Australian bushfires and COVID-19.³

SBS continues to prioritise social media comment moderation with ongoing resourcing and best-practice training to protect its online communities. This mitigates the risk of inappropriate comments, including hate speech, and legal liability in social media comments on SBS posts, and provides a safer platform for audience engagement.

These efforts have maintained a strong stance against hate-speech appearing under any SBS social posts. This is crucial when so much of SBS’s content is about providing a diversity of perspectives. SBS is a highly trusted brand, and SBS will continue to ensure that trust extends across the network’s social media presence.