A recent set of studies showcased on eMarketer.com showed that the use of online social networking (OSN) sites like Facebook or Twitter was up 300% and that the use of OSN’s can make a 32% difference in how effective your advertising materials are.

Growth rates for OSN user volume.

Between February 2008 and June 2009, OSN’s reported an increase in volume of more then 300% [1], leading the pack were Facebook with a majority market share of 59% and Twitter with a reported growth rate of 1170% in user volume over the same time period [2].

Why is the high growth rates in OSN sites user volume important?

A study posted on eMarketer.com showed that when potential customers were exposed to advertising alone, it had a 45% success ratio, but when pared with influenced social media the success of paid adverts increased to 77% [3].

Moreover, eMarketer.com reports that the top 20% of OSN users spend an average of 31 minutes per day online browsing OSN sites [4]. When this is combined with the ‘free’ or very inexpensive ways for businesses to interact with users on OSN sites, the potential advantages are huge!

What is ‘Influenced Social Media’?

Influenced social media is when a company actively interacts with social media users to promote their brand. This can be done through a simple Twitter account or through the more complex Facebook ‘Fan’ page.

The effectiveness of influenced social media comes back to developing a profile account for your company that actively works to promote your brand. This would include having a copy of your logo on your profile, information regarding what your company does and ways for users to contact you should they want to utilise your services or purchase a product.

Who is using OSN sites?

While the largest user group of OSNs is still the 18-34 year old bracket, there was an interesting shift in the past year. The 18-34 year old user group declined and the over-55’s user group increased there representation on Facebook by 108% to an impressive 13% [5].

What can Design Lots Creative Can do for Your Company.

dlc provides clients with assistance in setting up such accounts as well as providing training to assist them in learning their way around the often unfamiliar OSN sites. If you would like to get some more information, feel free to contact us today on 1300 434 123 or via the contact link in the top right corner.

Sources:

[1] ‘ExactTarget, “2009 Channel Preference Study,” Sept 24, 2009’ via eMarketer.com
[2] Experian Hitwise, “Facebook Visits Increased 194 Percent in Past Year,” Oct 9, 2009

[3] ‘comScore, GroupM Searh and M80, “The Influenced: Social Media, Search and the Interpaly of Sonsideration and Consuption,” Oct 6, 2009’ via eMarketer.com

[4] ‘comScore’ via eMarketer.com

[5] Experian Hitwise, “Facebook Visits Increased 194 Percent in Past Year,” Oct 9, 2009