Social Media

These are the definitive benefits of social media marketing that are listed:

  • Increased exposure

  • Increased traffic

  • Developed loyal fans

  • Generated leads

  • Improved search ranking

  • Grew business partnerships

  • Reduced marketing expenses

  • Improved sales



  • Facebook is still the leading social media network and continues to grow. Here are the latest facts and figures:
    • Facebook now has 1.26 billion users
    • Facebook averages 1.23 billion monthly active users
    • There are 128 million daily active Facebook users in the US
    • Facebook averages 945 million monthly active mobile users
    • Facebook usage is highest in North America: Facebook has 59% of all Internet users in North America as active users. Google+ only achieves 15% and Twitter 25%.

Why Social Media Is So Important for Your Business in 2014 image social media facts figures and statistics 2013 8

  • Google+ is now the second largest social network at just over 50%, with Facebook still dominating at 70%. Keep in mind that a Google+ account is mandatory whenever a person creates a new Gmail account. This is pushing up the account ownership stats. But no other social network has Google’s web assets leverage. 


  • YouTube is more popular than cable television: YouTube reaches more adults than any cable network. In the United States, the number of people who watch television has fallen behind the number of people who watch YouTube on a regular basis. This makes it clear that televised content is undergoing a decline, online consumption of video is on the incline. Many companies have taken advantage of this by releasing their ads or marketing campaigns on YouTube first before they debut on TV. Take many of the 2014 Super Bowl ads (like Budweiser) that were released on YouTube before the big game and were rewarded with triple YouTube views.

  • LinkedIn is still the largest professional business network and continues to grow but not at the pace of Pinterest,Google+ or Twitter. 

  • Pinterest is the fastest growing social network right now. The visual web is driving the rise of Pinterest and Tumblr with growth rates of 88% and 74% respectively over the last 12 months. Pinterest is also one of the leading referral sources for organic traffic, which is a good for high search rankings.

  • Some social media networks have a more active user-base than others. Statistical research has revealed that more than 95% of Facebook users log into their account every day. That number for Twitter is 60% and for LinkedIn is 30%.




The top challenges businesses have in using social media are:


Social Media Channels – Which One to Choose??

Business owners should pay attention to which social platforms help them reach their goals with relevant audiences, whether that’s generating sales or greater visibility. Part of my job is helping business owners decide which networks are best for their business.

Here are the most popular ones:

Facebook

Twitter

  • YouTube

  • Linkedin

  • Google

  • Pinterest

  • Instagram

  • StumbleUpon and Digg social bookmarking

  • Slideshare presentation sharing

And of course, blogging is key! 


 Integrate!

Social media is not an end unto itself. It MUST be integrated and work hand-in-hand with all your other marketing and PR initiatives which should be continued to reach all your marketing touch points and your ultimate success. These can include:
  • Email Marketing and growing your email list
  • Search engine optimization
  • Event marketing (speaking and networking)
  • Direct Mail
  • Online ads (Google Adwords)
  • Print display ads
  • Sponsorships
  • Mobile Marketing
  • Radio/TV Ads
Sharing is Caring!

I know this sounds basic, but make sure your website, blog and email newsletter include social “share” buttons for people to easily share your content on ALL their social networks.

So, What Will Social Media Do For Your Business?

Making social media a priority for your business will allow your business to:
  • Be found!
  • Establish a stronger brand
  • Boost sales
  • Share expertise and knowledge
  • Tap into the wisdom of customers
  • Interact and receive valuable customer feedback
  • Free advertising: satisfied customers talk about your company, this is the strongest word-of-mouth-marketing
  • Build a community

Social media definitely needs to be part of your marketing mix in 2014!

Social Media Optimisation / Orange State Web Solutions

Social Media Optimisation / Orange State Web Solutions 

Social Marketing

Social Media Optimisation, also known as Social Marketing Optimisation or SMO is becoming increasingly important as the internet matures. The sheer popularity of social networking websites such as Twitter, FaceBook and Linkedin together with numerous other social media sites such as YouTube, Technorati and Squidoo and bookmarking sites such as Digg are far too powerful to ignore.
Social Media Optimisation is therefore the process undertaken to capitalise on the huge traffic social networking websites can bring, thus increasing online sales and brand awareness.
Social Media is becoming such a huge part of search engine optimisation as it helps to get the content out there on the internet to attract users to the website. As SEO gets bigger and bigger there are more affecting factors coming into the process, it’s important to keep up and make sure that your website checks as many boxes as possible, SMO is another box in that checklist.


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