The Growth of Social Media

Will you be celebrating record growth and surpluses — the best year yet — or planning an exit strategy?

The answer depends very much on what you do now to prepare for tomorrow. And if that preparation is not taking full advantage of The Growth of Social Media – better pray your competitors aren’t either.

Have a look at this new infographic and let me know what you think.  I imagine you’ll be surprised by some of the stats.  I know I was.

A few of the highlights include:

• More than half the users of Social Media sites are over 50 years old.
• Facebook has 310 million unique visitors daily and carries more traffic than Google.
• 80% of employers now research potential job candidates on social networks.
• 50% of mobile Internet traffic in the UK is on Facebook.
• 3,500 pictures a minute are uploaded to Flicker.
• 43% of companies are using blogs for marketing.
• 71% of companies are now on Facebook.

Business as usual doesn’t exist any more. Most markets have changed beyond recognition.

Likewise Marketing – from a multichannel promotional environment to a maze of two way social communication channels and platforms which stretch companies to perform in unfamiliar ways, distract buyers and stretch limited resources. And the growth rate is nothing short of amazing.

Did you know, for instance, if Facebook was a country, it would now be the third largest country in the world? It passed the U.S. earlier this year and is now eclipsed only by China and India in terms of population. That mind-boggling statistic – along with a few dozen more – is showcased in the following infographic, demonstrating social media’s explosive growth in recent years.

Were you surprised by some of the stats?

Do you want to rethink those social marketing plans now?

Infographic courtesy of Search Engine Journal