Social Media – a Few Facts in 2013 That Will Amaze and Enlighten

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for the last couple of years, you know social media plays a huge role in the success of online businesses in countless ways. Branding, becoming more visible to your target audience, building trust, positioning yourself as an authority in your industry – these are all aspects of online marketing that can be accomplished through social media.

Even if you’re an expert in networking with others, there are a few facts about social media we think will amaze you – and perhaps even enlighten you if you still have doubts about the power of social media!

Here are a few facts from 2013 we think you’ll enjoy:

• The fastest growing demographic for Twitter is 55-64 year olds
• Google+ users are predominantly male – 67 % are men, 33 % women
• What’s the most discussed category on Pinterest? Food
• YouTube gets over one billion unique visitors per month
• 250 billion photos are uploaded to Facebook every day
• Nearly a quarter of Facebook users check their accounts 5 times or more every day
• 28 % of Retweets on Twitter are due to the inclusion of “please RT” in tweets
• About 20 million Twitter user accounts are fake
• Of the 238 million-plus LinkedIn users, 50 % have a Graduate or Bachelor’s degree
• Over three million companies have their own LinkedIn company page
• 60 % of consumers claim social media integration makes them more likely to share products and services
• Approximately 46 % of Internet users rely on social media before purchasing a product/service
• When it comes to marketing leads, those acquired via social media are nearly double those of PPC, email, trade shows, and telemarketing
• Whereas Google+ seems to be predominantly male, Pinterest is predominantly female with about 70 % of users being women

In the beginning (which seems like a century ago), social media was mostly occupied by teenagers, or musical groups as was the case with MySpace (perhaps this rings a bell somewhere in the back of your mind?) It’s almost impossible to imagine the changes in social media over the past five or so years – and that it has become one of the “must-do’s” in online marketing for those who want to compete on any level.

Social media marketing at its core is the process of using social media sites to gain traffic or attract attention to your business, brand, or product. While it is a catch-all phrase for sites that are very different in terms of social actions, age, gender, education level, etc., finding those sites that are the right “fit” for your business is critical. After reading the 2013 facts above, it’s fairly obvious that social media is here to stay – and an important component of every online marketing strategy.