Social Media Stats for 2012

 We all hear the buzz about social media and it’s been drilled into our brains that a successful business in 2012 requires participation in various social media platforms. But just how much does social media really matter?  In an attempt to shed some light on this topic, we have compiled a list of social media statistics for you in this issue of the Minuteman Press Review.  If your company isn’t already taking advantage of these channels to connect with customers, it’s time to jump on the social media bandwagon because these statistics only promises to grow more into 2012 and beyond:

• One in seven minutes online is spent on Facebook (comScore)
  Facebook dominates how internet users interact with friends, brands, images, videos, searches and more. It’s  an easy way to keep in touch with existing customers, a great way to gain new ones and to keep everyone up to date with company news and special promotions.

Facebook Ads can be targeted very specifically to make sure only your desired demographic sees your ad: choose to target your campaigns at a specific location, age group, gender etc to make sure the people seeing your ad are the people likely to be interested in your company. Also, this platform gives great word of mouth advertising. Every time someone becomes a fan of your page, it shows up in the newsfeed of all their friends.

• There are more than 800 million Facebook users (Facebook)
  If Facebook was a country, it would be the third largest in the world behind China and India. And it’s not going to be a third wheel for long–Mashable and others estimate Facebook will hit one billion users by the end of this month, which is over 14% of all humanity

• Twitter has over 100 million active users (State of Search)
  Right now, there are approximately 465 million Twitter  users, with 175 million Tweets per day. People use Twitter to share and read news. In today’s world of technology, especially when it comes to communications, you have very little time to make a statement. But with the help of Twitter you’ll be able to get your name and message out in the public’s eye quickly and easily. Twitter gives you an opportunity to be conversational which builds trust with your customers. And if you create a persona that is strong and on point, it will set your business apart from its competitors and open up opportunities to gain recognition and possibly new customers.

• Google Plus is adding 625,000 new users per day (PC World)
  Even as we write this, these stats are likely out of date. Google+ is growing rapidly and is predicted to have 400 million users by the end of 2012. Take the time to read up on Google+ and learn how it can help your business.

• There are more than 135 million professionals on LinkedIn (LinkedIn)
  LinkedIn is the most powerful business networking engine in the world. Set up a profile or group for your business and connect with other businesses to share tips, best practices and ideas.

• Over 48 hours of video is uploaded to YouTube every minute (YouTube)
  With a little math, that translates to nearly eight years, or 3 billion videos of content uploaded every day. Consider making a video and posting it to YouTube. It can be footage from an event that your company participated in or even just short interviews with your staff or customers. People love video and it’s a great way to give potential customers an idea of what your business is all about.

The bottom line is that it’s time to ramp up the social media efforts for your race. You have a huge opportunity to reach new participants, and build loyalty with previous participants, using these channels.