Why Social Media

With about 1 BILLION active users on Facebook, 280 million on Twitter, and over 340 million on Google Plus, it’s obvious that social media has the spotlight, and folks – it’s not stepping out any time soon.

Social media now makes up the bulk of all time spent on the internet. It’s where people find their news and entertainment. It’s where consumers go to find products, services, and brands. It’s where customers share their experiences. It’s where the world converges and the people connect.

In short, social media offers a direct, streamlined path right to your target audience, and it’s an opportunity you can’t afford to miss.

If you’re still wondering how you can leverage social media in your business, take a look at the numerous opportunities it presents:

• Brand awareness
• Customer support
• Reputation management
• Lead generation
• Community involvement
• Product launch and promotion
• Polling and feedback
• Consumer engagement
• Strategic alliances
• Expertise building
• News and content distribution
• Public relations

Still not convinced? Take a look at some of the most current statistics about the top social media sites. We think you’ll agree.  These facts are pretty compelling.  Social media sites and blogs reach 80% of all active U.S. internet users. (That means your clients and customers are definitely there.)  60% of marketers have implemented a social media strategies, or will in the next year. (That means your competition is probably already there too!)  63% of marketers are either vaguely aware or not aware of what is being said about their companies online. (Do you know your company’s online reputation?)  Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, and YouTube are now considered cornerstones of most social-media strategies in larger companies.

• More than 800 million active users
• Over 50% of active users log on to Facebook in any given day
• Average user has 130 friends
• People spend over 700 billion minutes per month on Facebook
• Average user is connected to 80 pages
• 56% of consumers said they are more likely to recommend a brand to a friend after becoming a fan on Facebook.
• Average user creates 90 pieces of content each month
• 95% of Facebook Wall posts are not answered by brands. (This represents a huge opportunity for your brand to stand out!)

• There are currently more than 200 million Twitter users
• The number of Twitter users increases by 300,000 per day
• 34% percent of marketers have generated leads using Twitter, and 20% have closed deals using Twitter (Have you?)
• Twitter gets more than 3 billion requests per day, generated by more than 180 million unique visitors
• Twitter users send approximately 100 million tweets per day
• Twitter’s search engine gets 600 million queries per day

• YouTube exceeds 2 billion views per day, which is nearly double the prime-time audience of all 3 major US broadcast networks combined
• 24 hours worth of video is uploaded every minute
• Over 3 million people are connected and auto-sharing to at least one social network