In fact, mobile usage is the driving force behind the recent growth of social media channels. Australia has one of the highest rates of smartphone adoption in the world with 54% of our population using them. Social media is a global phenomenon and is changing the way we send and receive information. To help you visualise the power of social media here is a snapshot of what happens every social media minute:
– Instagram users shared 3,600 new photos
– Brands and Organisations received 34,772 Facebook ‘likes’
– Twitter users sent over 100,000 tweets
So much can happen in a minute! It’s important to remember all social media channels complement each other and work together to build the digital presence of you brand. It’s not necessary to have accounts on hundreds of channels if you are not using them strategically for your brand. You need to maximise the communication with your target audience and these seven social media channels are a great place to start!
Facebook is not going anywhere and still dominates the social media market. The fastest growing demographic is 45 to 54 year age bracket, which tells us brands need to be present on this platform or they will get left behind.
Twitter is the fastest growing social network globally and an easy way for brands to communicate with key stakeholders from high profile media personalities to potential and current customers. The best feature on Twitter is it is all said within 140 characters!
Photos are king! Instagram is a form of visual storytelling and can give your brand a creative and artistic flare it may not have had before. It is a great way to build your brand personality and your brand following.
Every second 2 new members join LinkedIn, but few people use this channel to its full potential. LinkedIn is full of people who love to network and are most likely the movers and shakers of your industry. These are the people you want to know about you and your business, so get on there!
Google +
Google + has been around for over 12 months and has reached over 400 million users. Despite this, it has been underestimated as a tool for marketing brands. Maria Peagler calls it “The Rodney Dangerfield of social networks, because it gets no respect! It has tremendous SEO and branding potential, but few people realize the power it has“. Hangouts enable you to have group meetings, discussions or demonstrations through a live video chat with up to 10 people allowing real time face to face engagement. No other channel lets you do this.
69 of the world’s top 100 brands now have Pinterest accounts. According to Mashable.com, Pinterest tends to drive more referral traffic to sites than all other social media channels. It is also a great platform to make your brand and products more discoverable in an environment where consumers are looking to capture inspiration in all forms.
Some people say YouTube is killing TV. Every minute 72 hours of video is uploaded to YouTube.
In just eight years it has transformed the web from mono-media to multimedia. Videos are embedded in blogs, websites and online stores and are a powerful tool spread messages and encourage action.
You may think social media is a fad and there is no need to worry about it, but the reality is your consumers are using social media. The proof is in the statistics!
