Latest Stats on Social Media and WHY You Should Not Ignore Them

As you know, we are kind and friendly bunch here at One Media Solutions, not to mention a spectacular online marketing agency, ahem right that’s enough of “big-ing” ourselves up. However, as we are kind we have put together this blog informing you of the latest social media stats on our favourite platforms which we have come across.

This blog will prove that using Social Media for your business is worth while and you're not doing just to jump on 'band wagon'..................

These numbers, should, if nothing else, just remind you of how Social Media is only continuing to grow as it becomes more of a habit for users not hobby.

Facebook:

Yes, it would not be a blog on Social Media if we did not start it off with a fact on Facebook.

Facebook tells us there are now over 1.15 billion active users. This still makes it the most popular Social Media platform, and one you cannot afford to miss out on.

So the stat 1.15 billion what does this mean? This stat tells us that Facebook has grown by a massive 21% in the last 12 months. Still growing at this rate only means good things for Facebook and you business owners on who get to reach.

Twitter:

Those of you who regularly read our blog know that Twitter is One Media Solutions favourite Social Media platform. It is our favourite platform because of its reach and it makes it so easy to join in conversations (as mentioned in more detail in our other blogs). 

Twitter is almost unique in that, it is the Social Media platform which is creating a bridge between mass media and social media. Have you noticed how television programmes now display a hashtag in the corner of your screen? And how businesses who are advertising in the newspaper are doing the same? This is a great way to keep conversation flowing. Twitter can do this so well as its News Feed works in Real Time, keeping everyone informed up to the minute.

According to GlobalWebIndex Twitter has over 288 million active monthly users. Over 170 billion tweets have been sent. 80% of Twitter users access the platform using their mobile.

Google +

Wow, since launching over 18 months ago, Google+ real growth spurt has been within the last 6 months. And it is continuing to grow, very rapidly.

Google+ growth may be due to the fact that Google is such a big player when it comes to the internet. It’s what everyone users to search and because of this they have made it very difficult for users to keep avoiding signing up. Here at OMS HQ we feel that people are very curious and want to learn how to use it, therefore its growth will keep going up.

The latest stats we could find on Google+ is there are 343 million active users. So it still has a lot of catching up to.

LinkedIn 

We have found you either love it or hate, but what this really comes down to is; are you wanting to get ahead and noticed in the business world by your peers? Or, are you happy going to work and not bothered about telling random acquaintances what level you are at.  

LinkedIn works great in the business to business model. Not great in the business to consumer model. The platform is currently working to make the site more social. However, the idea is to make connections with people you know or have experienced professionally. Having said all this it has reached 238 million active users.

238 million is no number to ignore and if used correctly LinkedIn is a powerful tool to secure business.

 

These are our top 4 social media platforms and all have impressive numbers to agree with us, in part 2 of this blog we will cover YouTube to FourSquare and tell you why you shouldn’t be ignoring their latest stats.

Today’s stats prove to us that Social Media is only continuing to grow. If you feel you wold like help with management or content for your Social Media platforms then We are without doubt the best Social MediaAgency for you to come to.

Remember to watch out for part 2 of this blog, more numbers to convince you to not just stick to these top 4 platforms.

Inbound Marketing…What is it?

“What is inbound marketing?” we hear you cry.

Inbound marketing is what One Media Solutions specialise in AKA online / digital marketing. This is where your company displays to those who are searching for your products or services.

New customers are looking for you and inbound marketing brings them knocking on your door.

We are not saying that outbound marketing (traditional marketing) i.e. posting flyers, newspaper ads is not worth your time or does not have a place in your marketing strategy. However, it is un-measurable. And, we do not need to tell you that internet behaviour and usage has evolved, and therefore so should your marketing efforts. So, do you really give inbound marketing enough of your attention?

So many traditional marketing efforts are now dismissed by consumers. Whether we are business owners or not we all have that one thing in common, and that is, we are all consumers. And as a consumer, how many times have you changed channels when the TV ad break comes on? Thrown away the flyer posted through the door before you have even read it properly? Really took note of who is advertising in the paper?

Keeping all this in mind are you sure you have put enough budget aside for your inbound marketing efforts.

Now we have mentioned budget let’s talk money. On average, inbound marketing costs 62% less than traditional marketing efforts and best of all, inbound marketing efforts are measurable. Meaning you can see what is working and what’s not and whether you should continue your efforts or call it a day.

There are many inbound marketing platforms. The best platform we have found is “search” so this means making sure you appear in the search engines (Google) for the best, most relevant, key words. Consumers are, after all, looking for what it is you offer. We get you appearing on the search engines via SEO (natural listings) or PPC (sponsored listings).

Social Media Marketing is a fantastic inbound platform, and again, it is a measurable one. We can prove who is choosing to follow you and how relevant they are to your target market. Plus the communication here is ‘two way’, you are encouraging engagement, something which you cannot do by taking out an ad in the paper. You can sell to your following without them feeling like they are being sold to.

We feel inbound marketing works so well because consumers, nowadays, have taken control over what information they are being told. They choose to read certain blogs and follow certain social media accounts, they decide when they want search for a product or service on Google.

With traditional marketing the businesses were in control of when the consumer was sold to.

With inbound marketing the consumer is in control. One Media Solutions generates you leads using inbound marketing. One Media Solutions has a 100% client satisfaction rate making us the best SEO and Social Media Agency you will ever have to deal with.

More Than a Beginners Guide to Hashtags

So yesterday we promised you part 2 of our basic Guide to Twitter. And as we always keep our promises here it is. In today’s blog we’re going to give you more than a  beginners guide to hashtags and how to encourage a following to promote your business.

#Hashtags????

A hashtag, appropriately represented by the # symbol has been made famous by Twitter. Other social media platforms have followed suit and have started using hashtags, Facebook and Instagram, among others.

A hashtag is used to help Twitter users join in on a conversation. E.G.

“I cannot believe Mathew Crawley is dead #DowntonAbbey”

When you have used the hashtag symbol twitter turns the word into a hyperlink, when you click on the word you are taken to a list of most recent tweets of people who are using the same hashtag as you. 

So, by using the hashtag #DowntonAbbey everyone who is following this hashtag will be able to view my tweet, even if they are not following me. 

The purpose of this? You can strike up a conversation with someone new or make new connections with people / businesses who are talking about similar things.

To use a less geeky example; a client of ours is a wedding planner. We suggested to them to use and follow the hashtag #WeddingPlanner our client has managed to gain new clients from those who newly engaged who have tweeted something along the following:

“ahhhh so stressed, did not realise how much work this would be I need a #weddingplanner”

Even if you cannot sign up new clients you can offer advice on your industry hashtag in the hope to get re-tweeted and your brand exposed as wide as possible.

Another great use of hashtags, for businesses, are hashtag hours:

Let’s take #MerseyBiz as an example. #Merseybiz takes place every Tuesday from 08.00pm. So on Tuesdays from 8-9 login to Twitter and write a tweet including #MerseyBiz so you have the opportunity to tweet, re-tweet and follow all business joining in on this conversation. 

Hashtags are a great way to build up your following, which brings us nicely to our next topic:

How Do I Build Up A Following?

The ultimate goal of your Twitter account should not be to get as many followers as quickly as possible. Remember quality over quantity.

If you are tweeting relevant and interesting tweets about your industry / product then you should find that your following will quickly start to build. People will start to Re-Tweet you and mention you in their tweets, therefore spreading you further on Twitter, so more people come across you.

As mentioned in part 1, when you follow someone they are notified of this, and if you have spent time to target the right people, they will no doubt, want to follow you back. Please note: “target the right people” - try to be specific on who you follow, not everyone will find what you have to say interesting to target those who are most likely to be interested in you or can benefit from your tweets. 

To keep your followers interested in you, you must be interesting. Take a little extra time to think of something interesting to tweet rather than an idle sales tweet, they rarely get a good response.

Once you start to gain followers you should then start to engage with them, for example: ask them questions and re-tweet their tweets.

Social media is about sharing and caring. Twitter is an excellent marketing tool to expose your brand and show everyone how much of a leader you are in your industry.

As we have mentioned before, should you need further help with you Social Media accounts then so consider One Media Solutions as your Social Media Agency.

We also specialise in SEO and can drive the right traffic to your website increasing your online conversions.