Social Media – This is Not A Fad

Here are some numbers that might (should) adjust your thinking on social media.

Remember Hyper Colour T-Shirts, they were a fad? Remember Cabbage Patch Cards? They were a fad. Meaning they had a limited life cycle and sales dropped as fast as they peaked. But this social media thing doesn’t show signs of slowing anytime soon.

The latest 2011 Pew report on social media usage shows that now over 65% of online adults are active in social media. That is up from 61% since last year. This also means that 50% of ALL adults use social media websites such as Twitter and Facebook.

Harris Interactive (June 2010) asked a bunch of people what sources “influence your decision to use or not use a particular company, brand or product.”  71% claimed evaluations from family members or friends exert a “great deal.”

Probably my favourite number of note is ROI Research for Performance (June 2010) found that 53% of people on Twitter recommend companies and/or products in their Tweets, with 48% of them delivering on their intention to buy the product.

People associate a huge amount of trust in the recommendation they read while online. eMarketer (2009) found out that people considered information shared on their networks when making a decision—and the proportion was higher among users ages 18 to 24.

Is it time you revisited your stance on Social Media?

By Natalie Giddings, the founder of Pollen Marketing. They have launched a large number of online marketing strategies incorporating social media, email marketing and search engine optimisation for organisations such as Toyota Australia and SIGNARAMA.