Social Media Marketing is widely used today by marketers to connect with existing customers, as well as potential clients. Marketers are seeing social media marketing as very valuable to their business. It’s vital for business development and should be included in your marketing plan.
In an article in AccountingWEB by Michael Alter, he states that in a recent survey, 73 percent of salespeople who uses social media outperform those who don’t. Go here to read his article in its entirety.
In a 2013 end-of-the-year report by Social Media Examiner, 86 percent of marketers stated that social media is important for their business, while 89 percent of marketers stated that increased exposure was the number one benefit of social media marketing. Go here to pick up that report.
Social Networks
Facebook is still the largest network and is yet growing. It now has over 1.15 billion users. According to an article in Social Media Today by Phillipa Kiripatea, 50 percent of Facebook users check their profile every day, while 23 percent do it 5 or more times a day! In 2013, 54 percent of marketers acquired a customer through Facebook. Facebook is a popular social platform for interacting with potential clients. This is a huge opportunity for you to market your brand to your followers. Go here to read Phillipa’s article.
Google+ is the second most actively used platform with over 343 million active users and has over 500 million total users*; however, when you sign up for a Gmail account, you have to open a Google+ account. This is driving up the numbers. 67 percent of the users are male and 40 percent of marketers use Google+. Keep in mind using Google+ can have a huge impact on your business in regards to search engine results. Go here to read more about using Google+ for your business and the importance of doing so.
Twitter has over 500 million users and over 288 million monthly active users. The fastest growing age demographic is 55 to 64 year olds. In 2013, 36 percent of businesses gained a new customer through Twitter. 60 percent of Twitter users access their accounts using mobile. So, make sure your website is mobile friendly.
LinkedIn has over 238 million users and there are 1.5 million LinkedIn groups. It is known as a platform for college graduates. 50 percent of the users have Bachelor’s or Graduate degrees. This network is strictly for business connections.
Pinterest is the fastest growing network with women being the majority of users, over 69 percent. This network is great for driving organic traffic.
Check out this cool infographic from Digital Insights on social media statistics.
*There is controversy over the number of Google+ users. A recent report shows where Google+ has over 1 billions users; however, it’s not clear if this is the total number of users or Google accounts; i.e., Android users, Gmail users, Google+ users, Google pages, and/or Google communities.
Choosing a Social Network
If you’re not using social media for business development, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity. Chances are, your competitors have included social media marketing in their marketing plan. The key is to select social networks where your current and potential clients hang out in order to connect with them. Your connections will drive the expansion of your business.
Being an active user of social media networks can be time-consuming. Outsource the tasks that don’t require your immediate attention to your trusted Virtual Assistant, while you focus on your followers. There are virtual assistants who specializes in social media marketing.
Have you acquired any clients through social media marketing? We would love to hear your experiences, ideas, thoughts, and/or suggestions. Join the conversation below by commenting in our comments section. As always, thanks for reading, and please share this post by clicking on the share buttons!
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