Why Social Media Marketing for Business Isn’t Optional Any More

Social media marketing is no longer optional for business.

Last November, Huffington Post published 100 social media statistics that shouldn’t be ignored. Among these include

• 80 percent of social media users prefer to connect with brands through Facebook
• 77 percent of B2C companies and 43 percent of B2B companies acquired new customers from Facebook
• 32 percent of all Internet users use Twitter
• 69 percent of Twitter follows are suggested by friends
• 1 million new Twitter accounts are added every day
• 50 percent of Twitter users access the site using mobile devices
• Instagram has more than 80 million users
• Instagram had more than 724 percent increase in daily mobile visitors last year
• Over 80 percent of pins on Pinterest are repins
• Pinterest referrals spend 70 percent more money than visitors referred from non-social channels
• Pinterest pins with prices get 36 percent more likes than pins without
• More people prefer Pinterest to Facebook when associating with retailers or brands
• The Google+ button is used 5 billion times per day
• Websites using the +1 button receive 3.5 times the traffic from Google+ that sites without the button

In every study published regarding social media marketing, more and more people are using each of the social media sites than the last study. Brands big and small are learning how to use the social media tools at their disposal more effectively. Consumers are interacting with brands in a huge way through social media.

The only question you should be asking yourself regarding social media marketing is, ‘What is the best strategy for my business going forward?’

The answer to the When question is “NOW.”

Published on: April 29, 2013