Start-up company or small business asking yourself what all the fuss of Social Media is about?
You might want to keep reading -
Do you need to use social media? You have little time or idea how to create the right engaging posts?
Could you just get by with a website and an e-newsletter?
Answer: Yes, you need social media – at least you do if you want to reach customers and stay competitive. You may think – this is being said, because it is our business – but keep on reading -
Just a few reasons -
Your customers and potential customers are using social media on a regular basis as do your competitors.
And of course which social media platform is right for your business needs to be carefully considered to fit with your business model – B2C ( Business to Customer) or B2B (Business to Business) and what service or goods you offer.
Much of your target market is already using social media.
If you want to reach clients and prospects, you need to be where they are – by using social media you’ll increase the odds that your marketing message will get through to a significant number of them.
It will give you a competitive advantage. It will help you connect with your clients and prospects.
Most marketing channels are one-way in nature – a business sends out its marketing message, and the consumer receives it. With social media, you can actually have a conversation. Social media helps to create a community of fans and followers that see you as more than just a business entity. They’ll view you as someone they trust, and people buy from those they trust.
Let’s look at some figures –
FACEBOOK DEMOGRAPHICS 2016
Facebook is still the leading social network with over 1.44 billion monthly active users worldwide and over 31 million in the UK alone. Facebook’s demographic in the UK is fairly even with 49% male users, and 51% female. Did you know that 60% of the UK population has a Facebook account? Whilst Facebook’s younger demographic seem to be looking elsewhere, they still have a strong 2.5 million of 13-17 year olds using Facebook, along with 26% of users still in the 25-34 age demographic.
TWITTER DEMOGRAPHICS 2016
My favourite social network; Twitter has over 15 million active users in the UK and over 65% of these users are under the age of 34. Over 80% of the 15 million active users access the social network from their mobile with a further 29% checking their Twitter feed multiple times during the day. Just like Facebook, Twitter is relatively even with 49% males and 51% female in regards to user demographic. There are over 400 million tweets sent daily, and close to 75% of users are following less than 50 twitter accounts.
PINTEREST DEMOGRAPHICS 2016
Pinterest launched in 2010 and in just two years, it had increased its traffic by 789% with 200,000 UK users. As you can expect, Pinterest’s demographics are less balanced than Twitter or Facebook with 62% of users female, and 38% of users male. There have been reports suggesting a stronger female usage up to 80% but no solid evidence to support this… yet. Did you know that 88% of all Pinterest users purchased a product they pinned and a further 49% have purchased 5 of more products they pinned?
INSTAGRAM DEMOGRAPHICS 2016
Last year, Instagram overtook Twitter in terms of global users (300m on Instagram, and 280m on Twitter).
90% of UK Instagram users are under 35, with a high amount of these female that are likely living in urban areas.
According to eMarketer, advertising revenue generated by Instagram will reach just under £1 billion in 2016 and by 2018, it is estimated that there will be over 106 million Instagram users in just the USA.
LINKEDIN DEMOGRAPHICS 2016
Still the B2B social network leader, LinkedIn has over 60 million views every month in just the UK. There is a slight shift in regards to age and gender demographics with only 21% of users under the age of 35 and 79% of users are males.
Two new members join LinkedIn every second, there are 187 million monthly unique visitors and 40% of LinkedIn users check their account on a daily basis. LinkedIn is also used in over 200 countries and is available in 20 different languages.
GOOGLE+ DEMOGRAPHICS 2016
Google+ has over 400 million users worldwide, with 63% of these users male, and 37% female. In the UK, 41% of users fall in the 18-24 age demographic and 29% of users fall in the 25-34 age demographic.
54% of Google+ users log into their account to stay in touch with friends whilst a further 42% use Google+ to interact with brand content. The average monthly time spent on Google+ is 7 minutes, with an average visit duration at just under 4 minutes.
Sources: PewResearchCentre, We Are Social, Social Media London, eMarketer, Rose McGrory, E-Consultancy, ECommerce Manager, Pingdom and The Last Hurdle.