Here's an interesting info-graphic, even though it's a little bit out of date at this stage (dating from Q2 of 2013), it gives a decent sense of the numbers of people who are using the different social media channels.
The percentages shown in the graphic are the percentage of the population who have an account.
- Facebook is unsurprisingly the top of the pile with a high of 56%
- Twitter at 27%
- Linkedin 20%
- Bebo 7%
- Google Plus 21%
- Instagram 10% (said to be the fastest growing social network).
- Pinterest 5% (a lot smaller then I would have thought).
The most stark figure for me is the "None Of These" which is still at 37%
The most stark figure for me is the "None Of These" which is still very high at 37% - We simply can't afford to ignore the 37% of people who are not engaging with social media. This is why your website still remains the single most important element in your on-line presence.
Even when you consider the social media channel with the largest penetration, Facebook at 56% of the population, you are missing out on a massive number of people (44%) who don't use Facebook. So many companies put all their energy into this channel alone, often to the point of neglecting their website's content. This is bad practice. To focus too much on Facebook alone is one of the biggest mistakes small business in Ireland are making. Of the 56% of the population which have an account on Facebook only many of them rarely use the social network, also Facebook's Edge-Rank algorithm is changing, in the past it was calculated that 17% of your likers would see a post you make on Facebook, this has fallen to a mere 6%, and is predicted to drop even further as Facebook tries to get brands to pay to Boost their posts.
Posting the occasional, somewhat random, photo on Facebook is not a digital marketing strategy.
These figures show why it is essential to have a well rounded and fully integrated, website driven digital marketing strategy.Posting the occasional, somewhat random, photo on Facebook is not a digital marketing strategy., I really can't repeat that enough, don't fall into this trap!
