Top 10 Important Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Social Media
Editor’s note: This post was written by Isabel Williams, who works at http://www.bizdb.co.uk/. With a background in new business technologies, Isabel is a passionate blogger and experienced educator who writes and lectures about leveraging the potential of the World Wide Web for business development.
Social media is constantly changing and every time we measure consumer behaviors, we come up with new interesting statistics that broaden our knowledge about how users interact with companies. The nature of this interaction also changes, but fortunately we’ve got a whole wealth of tools at our disposal to track and measure all kinds of activity on social media, helping marketers to set up new strategies that foster the brand-consumer relationship. Here are 10 interesting facts about social media you probably weren’t aware of – number 7 might completely change the way you reach out to brand customers.
1. Facebook Loves Fridays
In their Social Intelligence Report, Adobe analyzed over 225 billion Facebook posts and unveiled the top day for engagement on Facebook to be Friday. Whatever you post on this day is simply bound to receive more likes, shares and comments. Think about this one when setting up your posting schedule.
2. Written Content Is (And Will Be) More Important Than Visual
Every year, Social Media Examiner conducts a survey among professional marketers – this year’s results clearly point to the growing importance of high-quality content marketing. Interestingly, over 58% of marketers claimed that written content, as opposed to visual, is the most important form of social media content.
Before you post another image, think about how you could engage customers with your brand by means of written content. If you’re still doubting the importance of great copywriting, have a look at this archival post from The Blog Herald.
3. Tweeting Is Worth It in the Late Evening
A recent report from TrackMaven shows that tweets sent from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET received most likes and retweets. They might be on to something – after all, they analyzed over 1.7 million tweets!
It’s logical really – late evening is a moment characterized by a low share volume, so tweets won’t have too much competition for going viral. Oh, and if you’re wondering which day of the week brings best results – it’s Sunday!
4. On Facebook, Go Visual
Despite the renewed interest in written content, visuals are still powerful means of attracting consumers. How powerful exactly? Social Bakers reveals that 87% of shares on a Facebook page happen on posts adorned with photos. Posts with links get only 4% and those with statuses get a meek 2%. If you’re about to post something, make sure to use a compelling picture.
5. Twitter Is More Complicated Than You’d Suspect
The Pew Research Center, together with the Social Media Research Foundation, came up with a very interesting analysis of communication models that reign on Twitter. Apparently, there are as many as 6 of them! Have a look at their infographic and see whether your brand’s tweeting falls under one of those categories – each communication type reflects a different kind of brand-consumer relationship.
6. People in 55-64 Age Bracket Are Using More Social Media Than Ever
This is probably one of the most interesting recent findings about the changing social media audiences. Apparently, Twitter noticed that one of its fastest growing demographic is located within the 55-64 age bracket. Those of you who take care of brands for mature consumers should now be expanding your marketing strategies to cover Twitter.
7. Success Comes to Those Who Respond (Fast)
This is something we could all tell instinctively, but never had any substantial data to prove it. A recent report from Lithium Technologies demonstrates that the real-time nature of Twitter is affecting how brands interact with their customers. The company found out that 53% of those who tweet a brand expect a response within an hour. If the tweet in question is a complain, the figure rises to a smashing 72%! Better track your response time and make sure to always respond to tweets sent by your customers.
8. Every Day Has a Different Trend on Pinterest
One of the social media platforms that drive most web traffic, Pinterest, recently unveiled the daily trends on its walls. For every day of the week, there is a category that receives most attention – while fitness is popular on Monday, inspirational quotes score on Wednesday. This is an interesting fact that you need to take into account if you plan on pinning something related to your brand.
9. Visuals Work Great For Young Audiences
Brands that target the youth should think in visual terms – Digital Insights suggests that almost one-fourth of teens pointed to Instagram as their favorite social network. Instagram is in itself pretty impressive – it might have escaped you, but to date, there were more than 20 billion photos shared on it and during the last six months the platform gained more then 50 million new users.
10. A Facebook Post Lives 5 Hours
The same agency unveiled another interesting fact that you need to take into account when posting on Facebook. Apparently, 75% of engagement on a post happens during the first 5 hours. After that, your post – however brilliant it is – will disappear from public consciousness. Make sure that those 5 hours count.
Constant monitoring of social media developments and measurement done by powerful analytics tools are there to bring us new insights on those popular social media platforms. All reflect the changes of interests, preferences and modes of interaction consumers have with brands. That’s why all marketers should keep up with those novelties – you never now where this social media journey will take us next!
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