Social media is changing the way we communicate and the way we are perceived, both positively and negatively. Every time you post a photo, or update your status, you are contributing to your own digital footprint and personal brand. – Amy Jo Martin
From this quote, it is not surprising to see why every business worth its salt has a presence on social media. Social networking websites like Facebook and Twitter have the potential to boost a business from obscurity to fame in a few days. If you are thinking of leveraging these platforms and others, these social media stats will give you another reason to.
1. One in Every Three Professionals has an Account on LinkedIn
According to a post on Statista, the professional networking website has had over 364 million members in 2015. This is a significant upgrade from 296 million members it received during the first quarter of the year. It is easy to see why. Not only does LinkedIn help professionals network more efficiently it makes it possible for them to make the right connections. Posting relevant content on a regular basis and responding on other posts may also get you noticed. A LinkedIn company page has features that help business owners such as yourself recruit better and promote a positive brand image.
2. More than 50% of Social Media Users are Likely to Stay Loyal to a Brand
If you are still unconvinced on how effective a social media strategy can be for your brand presence, consider this statistic. Almost everyone has a social media account which makes websites such as Facebook and Twitter great resources for customers who have the potential to become loyal fans and brand advocates.
For example, let’s say that you own a pet grooming service and would like to target pet owners in your area. Pet lovers everywhere are sure to ‘Like’ your page; and if they ‘Like’ what they say, they may also share it with the hundreds of other friends in their own networks. Chances are that a lot of those connections will be pet lovers as well. In this way, a Facebook Business page will get you the likes and shares your business needs to gain exposure fast especially if you post content that pet lovers are sure to appreciate.
3. Tweets That Are Under 110 Characters Receive More Engagement
This is according to a post on Socialmediaexaminer.com. Twitter has imposes a 140 character limit on all users. This restriction may seem short. However, the stats speak for themselves. There is a reason why this happens. The shorter your tweets are, the easier will it be for other users to retweet you and add their own comments. Twitter now allows you to add your own comments to Retweets and gives you 116 characters to do so. This change now means we can contribute to the retweet without having to alter the previous Tweet.
4. Google+ Has Over 300 Million Active Uses Every Month
This stat is from a post in DMR. However, Google+ is still often overlooked by marketers as a prospective social media marketing tool. Its monthly users continue to grow. If recent stats are any indication, it seems that the search engine giant’s social media venture has a lot to offer to businesses.
5. Over 80% of Marketers Claim That Social Media Efforts Increase Traffic
If the stats mentioned above have sunk in by now, this one shouldn’t come as a surprise. This is from a post in HubSpot which also argues that social media is not “just a fad.” Studies that were being conducted since 2014 prove that over 80% of all businesses experienced a significant increase in traffic as a result of their social media efforts. Needless to say, businesses that don’t consider such marketing resources to promote their brands miss out on a lot of opportunities to engage and connect with their target audiences.
6. Tweets That Are Accompanied With Images Are Retweeted More
It pays to know about the type of content that will get you more engagement. Images are a case in point. Since the platform limits tweets to 140 characters, users have to find creative means to ensure that their content is retweeted, commented on or noticed amongst the millions of tweets that it receives every day.
7. Brand Engagement may Decrease if your brand Posts too many Tweets
Tweeting too often can hurt your branding efforts as much as if you post too little. Visitors or followers do not like being bombarded with posts as soon as they log in and are bound to atop following you if you don’t let up.
8. Over 93% of B2B Marketers use Social Media Marketing
We started off by discussing that most businesses have social media presence. And now you have a stat that proves it. This stat is according to a post on Social Media B2B which says that over 93% of all Business to Business marketers engage in some form of social media channel for business purposes. In goes on to relate that most of these marketers overwhelmingly favor the Big 3 in social media channels. Amongst them LinkedIn is the most used and comes up to 72%. Facebook comes in at a close second at 71% and Twitter follows at 67%. Amongst them, Facebook was cited as a channel for gauging customer temperaments and collecting valuable consumer feedback.
Stats do not lie. The fact that almost every business on the planet is using social media to market itself serves as a great reminder about the power of social media websites. If you weren’t considering using social media to boost your brand, these social media stats should be enough to change your tune.
Looking to sharpen your social media marketing skills? Join our top-rated professional diploma in social media marketing today!
