Social Facts for 2021
What is social media?
Websites and other online means of communication that are used by large groups of people to share information and to develop social and professional contacts.
Source: Dictionary.com
Facebook remains the dominant social platform by membership, even amidst it’s now-shaky reputation and increased competition from newer networks and messaging apps.
YouTube is a strong second, followed by FB Messenger with a decent lead within the third tier of services which includes WhatsApp, Instagram (also owned by Facebook) and Twitter.
Many platforms which post lower figures overall are still extremely popular among particular demographics and in certain markets (think: Snapchat x Gen Z).
How much is social media truly used?
There are 2.3 billion active social media users worldwide, and that number is growing every second. Get into it.
How does social media help me get sales?
Social media provides you with a direct channel to your audience. It is, in essence, the world’s largest social event.
You’re able to:
Mix and mingle with those who are interested in what you have to offer
Learn about your audience
Tell them about your business
Address any concerns or questions directly
Establish a meaningful ongoing rapport
Customers like to feel valued. They like to feel heard. By providing them with direct access to you and your business, you’re giving them the opportunity to make a genuine emotional connection with your services. You’re inspiring brand loyalty, and brand loyalty leads to sales. Social media is also a great way for your clients to give you feedback through comments, messages, and reviews. It creates opportunities for you to regularly and actively engage with your customers, proving your commitment to their satisfaction.
My company has a brick and mortar location. Why do I need social?
Your business has a unique story to tell, and your potential customers deserve to hear it. Some quick stats for you:
41% of Americans say it’s important that the institutions they engage with have a strong social media presence
28% of Americans would rather engage with a brand/organization on social media than visit a physical location
59% agree that customer service via social media has made it easier to get questions and concerns resolved
75% of marketers say that social marketing has increased traffic to their physical locations.
From a business standpoint, social media is a strong way to connect with current customers to make sure they are happy, and to engage with potential customers.
What is the difference between social media and email marketing?
72% of consumers prefer email as their main source for business communication, Once you've converted a potential customer to receive emails, 72% of consumers prefer email as their main source for business communication
59% of B2B marketers say email is their most effective channel for generating revenue.
Can I do more to target my audience specifically?
Social media platforms are able to gain a very strong understanding about what their users like by tracking the content users interact with. For example, if someone is regularly engaging with content related to healthy eating, yoga, and meditation, it’s likely this person would be interested in health and wellness accounts and pages.
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn allow you to use this valuable information when paying for ads. Their advertising platforms can be highly targeted to specific demographics based on people’s location, age, specific interests, and more. Plus, they offer further customization based on your goals. Do you want to drive traffic to your website? Or do you want to gain more followers and increase engagement on your social platforms? The goals, audience, and results of advertising on social are highly customizable and offer a valuable opportunity for your marketing.
Let Agave Social give you the upper hand when it comes to social media, by taking a deep-dive into your social analytics. See Agave Social Deep Dive.
Can social media help me generate business partnerships?
Small businesses don't always have large budgets to spend on marketing. Forging business partnerships is a grassroots marketing strategy that will place you in front of the right people, at the right time. Just like meeting an owner in-person, social networking affords you the opportunity to reach out to other business owners and forge alliances that could become mutually beneficial.
At Agave Social, we're quite fond of making friends, both IRL (in real life) and digitally. See: Agave Social Community Marketing.
Do I need to update my social pages often?
The short answer is yes. Social media is a living, breathing entity. For better or worse, people want to know what you’re doing and when you’re doing it. Consistency is key.
If you’re consistently churning out content on a weekly basis and then fall off for a month, you’re going to lose momentum and will stop gaining new followers. Regularly engage your audience and give them a strong sense of who you are and what you do.
People go on social media to stay in touch with their friends and family, and the brands they love and get new information about topics they find relevant. By posting well-constructed content, you’re providing a service to your audience beyond what you’re selling. In the process, you’re building brand awareness and loyalty. In fact, a lack of social media presence in today’s world illustrates a lack of effort or importance.
Having a consistent If someone searches for your business on social media, they either: Find nothing – showing that your business isn’t “big enough” to have a social presence, or find an outdated page that hasn’t been updated – showing that you seemingly don’t care. Or they find consistent, well thought out, and relevant posts – showing that you’re a legitimate company with a strong voice, and that you’re a business that has something to say.
Can social media help my SEO?
Search Engine Optimization is one of the most vital pieces of the digital marketing puzzle. SEO determines where your website shows up in a Google search for various keywords that are relevant to the products or services that you offer. While Google has never said there is a direct link to SEO and social media, there is enough correlation to make a strong case for investing in social media in order to drive SEO results.
Even more importantly, social media is a way to build links back to your content. When you write an article for your blog and it’s shared by your followers and other businesses or influencers, this creates backlinks and drives traffic to your site, which helps your SEO.
Social media is a key part of digital marketing, and staying active digitally can only help your SEO, and your company's bottom line.
Just the numbers:
general
Visual content is more than 40 times more likely to get shared on social media than other types of content. Source: HubSpot
There are 2.56 billion global mobile social media users, and 1 million new active mobile social users are added every day. Source: We Are Social
For small businesses
90% of marketers say their social marketing efforts have increased exposure for their business
75% of marketers say that social marketing has increased traffic to their physical locations
Source: Small Business Trends
Mobile
Users spend on average 69% of their media time on smartphones
80% of Twitter users are on mobile
Facebook Has More Than 2 Billion active monthly users, and 1 billion active daily users
People Aged 18-29 Are the Most Prevalent Facebook Users (65+ Is the Least)
82% of Facebook Users Have Attended at Least Some College
Source: Sprout SocialPeople Spend an Average of 35 Minutes on Facebook Each Day. Source: Nielson
According to TechCrunch, Instagram has 700 million monthly active users.
51% of Instagram users access the platform daily; 35% say they look at the platforms several times a day. Source: Meltwater
81% of millennials check Twitter at least once per day.
there are 330 million Monthly Active Twitter Users, over 100 million daily active users
500 million Tweets are sent daily
Source: Omnicore
Almost 3/4 (73 percent) of active pinners—and 89 percent of daily pinners—have bought something new they discovered on Pinterest.
5 percent of Pinners make a Pinterest-inspired purchase at least once a month.
60 percent of active pinners are likely to search and browse on Pinterest than browse catalogs.
About half of the active pinners who have noticed promoted pins on Pinterest have clicked on them to get more information. More than 40 percent have made a purchase, suggesting promoted pins inspire future action.
Source: Small Business Trends
LinkedIn boasts more than 450 million user profiles. Source: LinkedIn
Snapchat
On an average day, there are 187 million daily active users globally
The average snapchatter spends 30+ minutes in the app each day
Daily, Snapchat reaches 41% of 18 to 34-year-olds in the US
Source: Snapchat
Youtube
Youtube has 1.5 billion monthly active users. Source: TechCrunch
YouTube overall, and even YouTube on mobile alone, reaches more 18-34 and 18-49 year-olds than any cable network in the U.S.
Over one billion hours are watched daily on Youtube
Source: Youtube