Media

7 Social Media Stats All Marketers Should Know

Keeping track of all the most effective social media techniques can be dizzying. There’s no golden rule or master trick that works across all platforms. Even if there were, it would probably be outdated in a month.

Why? Because effectively using social media requires Rubik’s Cube-like logic. There are so many different platforms to keep track of, and a shift on one network could impact how you approach others.

With that in mind, here are seven social media stats we’ve compiled from around the web that should help you start to crack that cube.

social media stats

Clicks are still the universal barometer of publishing success, but that doesn’t mean they’re always good. Clicks can be bought on social networks for cheap these days. And if someone spends less than a minute reading your article before bouncing, how much is that click actually worth?

social media stats

You might assume that teens and tweens would be most active on social. They’re the ones walking into oncoming traffic with their eyes glued down to their screens, right? Turns out mothers of young kids are spending more time scrolling through feeds. It would be tough to speculate why without generalizing, but it might be time to change the demographic you target with social ads.

social media stats

Social shares are useful when thinking about engagement, but they don’t tell the whole story. The way content spreads has gotten so complex, and we need the software to be able to track that complexity. As strategies evolve, marketers would be wise to think about dark social when building a content operation. It’s easy to get caught up in likes and retweets, but as this stat from RadiumOne suggests, so much sharing happens beyond our purview.

social media stats

The average American spends about 10 hours in front of screens every day. That’s either awfully incredible or incredibly awful, depending on how you see it. Almost 20 percent of that time is spent on social media, meaning there is ample opportunity to get content in front of your audience. But with so much consumption, there’s also a risk that your content will blur together with everything else as users hop from network to network.

social media stats

Most marketers understand the still-growing value of mobile by now. But if you still needed motivation to optimize your site for mobile usage, this stat from eMarketer is it. Also, when it comes to targeting your Facebook ads, make sure you prioritize mobile users.

social media stats

Remember when Snapchat was a punchline? Some sort of cult platform for millennials? It still may be those things, but it’s also become incredibly important to brands and publishers. Everyone likes to talk about how video is the future of content. As engagement continues to skyrocket, Snapchat may be showing us why.

social media stats

If you’re a brand, it’s easy to post on Facebook and create a story on Snapchat. But it requires a bit more effort to get consumers to trust you. Social media isn’t just a one-way street for pushing your content in front of consumers. If people seek out brands with a question or problem, they want prompt replies. And the companies that do this well will seem like more than just faceless corporations—they’ll become valuable resources.

Image by Getty

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