Social Media Usage By The Numbers

I have seen some startling statistics on social media usage recently. I have attended social media seminars full of small business owners palpably energized by hearing about the cascade of potential business in the social media universe. I can see them thinking “Is this as amazing as it sounds?” and/or “How do I do this?”


You may know the old saying, “There are lies, there are damned lies, and then there are statistics”.  It is also true that statistics can be manipulated to say almost anything. However, the beauty of social media is that there are a lot of third party measures available to mitigate the filters of proprietary statistical analysis. In other words - you can believe the hype.

Here are the highlights:

·      2 billion people worldwide now have Internet access.

·      There are over 500 million Facebook users and 200 million Twitter users worldwide.

·      70 billion minutes per month are spent on Facebook alone! 70 Billion! That is more than all the Google, Yahoo and Microsoft-related websites combined.

·      More than 70% of online Americans visit blogs, online communities, and social networks regularly. These sites influence the buying choices and preferences of 47% of users.

·      As you would expect, 20-45 year olds visit blogs, online communities, and social networks the most – at a rate of approximately 80%.

·      Over 50% of the 45+ crowd are visiting the same sites. This is the fastest growing demographic in the social media universe.

·      Nearly 4 out of 5 web users visit a social networking site on a monthly basis.

·      As detailed in the social media guidebook, TwittFaced, social media is not the place that people get away from businesses. According to research by Cone Inc., 93% of Americans believe that companies should be interacting in the social media space.

·      The same Cone Inc. study found that 85% of respondents think that a company should interact with its customers via social media. While 56% feel a closer rapport with companies using social media and feel better served. The study is now 3 years old and I would expect those rates are now higher.

·      From 2008 - 2012, the percentage of US companies using social media for marketing is expected to double (from 42% to 88%).

·      There are over 12 million small-business people on Linked In - roughly 20% of its total user base. The networking opportunities are enormous.

Retrevo, an online electronics retailer, conducted a survey of 1000 online individuals. While some of the results of the survey might seem irrelevant to the business world on first glance, I think these numbers reflect how our behaviors are changing with technology, and the direct impact they will have:

·      48% of those surveyed check-in on Facebook and Twitter in the middle of the night, or as soon as they wake up in the morning. Most are under 25.

·      56% of social media users check Facebook at least once a day. 12% use Facebook every couple of hours.

·      Of the under 25’s, 22% don’t mind being interrupted during a meeting, 49% are OK being interrupted during a meal, 11% don’t mind during sex, and 24% don’t mind interruptions while in the bathroom. For over 25’s, the numbers halve.

These stats make you sit up and ask “How can I make this work for me?” Unfortunately for many small business owners this is like stepping into the void. The unfamiliarity of the social media space for business, the massive initial time commitment, and the lack of knowledge of systems and applications loom large. You can see how the initial excitement easily dissipates into the realities of time and knowledge constraints.

But remember, social media is not a trend or a fad. It is the social component of the ever-quickening evolution of communication technology. It is being integrated into our daily lives at an elemental level.

Social media is not only the future but the NOW of advertising, promotion and customer relationship management. If you have a business, you must find the time, energy and resources to keep pace with the evolution.

There are social media professionals out there who can help you get started and stay the course. But don’t listen to people trying to sell you fairy dust. Building effective social media networks does take time. So let’s get movin’ …

Paul Brindley

paulbrindleyconsults.com

facebook.com/pbconsults