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2020 is upon us – have you planned out your social media strategy yet?
Social media and business have become essential bedfellows. That means tapping into the power of social media is essential for today’s business leader.
Chances are you’ve tried some social media posts for your business in the past – maybe even had a few Facebook ads running. But you’ve let it fall to the back burner, if you pay attention to it at all. But it’s time to start paying attention again – don’t let past inexperience, disinterest – or even failure – stop you from taking advantage now.
Social media is the reason your competitors have gained on you. In some cases, they’re even running circles around you. They generate leads that are cheaper and flow more freely, they’re closing deals faster, and the people in charge of purchasing decisions remember them more readily.
And where are you right now?
You’re still struggling with cold-calling, emails, and conventional advertising. A few years back, that worked – the leads were pouring in. But today? Not so much.
It’s time to face the music – conventional marketing methods are too expensive and most of your potential customers can’t be reached using those antiquated tactics. They’re not picking up their phones, your emails are going unanswered, and paid ads are a waste of time and effort.

On the other hand, businesses using digital marketing with a strong social media presence are raking it in. They might have an inferior product compared to yours, but that doesn’t matter. Brands on social media are seen and heard, mostly for free, while you’re paying to get your foot in the door.
Like it or not, you have to adapt, and your business’s social media presence needs to grow – fast. It doesn’t matter if you’ve already played with it and failed. Persistence is key – with a firm understanding of what to expect, a detailed plan, and a few new tricks up your sleeve, you will soon harness the power of social media marketing for small business.
After all, business owners aren’t quitters and you’re not ready to throw in the towel just yet, right?
Let’s look at some social media statistics as they pertain to your business, and what they might mean for you.
• Overall, about 42% of the world’s population has a social media account. That’s 3.2 BILLION users across the globe.
• Broken down, that number is approximately 90.4% of Millennials, 77.5% of Generation X, and 48.2% of Baby Boomers use social media in some form.
• 91% of these 3.2 billion users access their accounts through mobile devices like smartphones or tablets.
• 61% of those people check their smartphone within 10 minutes of opening their eyes in the morning.
• What’s more, these people go on to check their smartphones at least 52 times during the day – though that estimate may be shockingly low.
• 54% of social browsers use social media to research products and services before they buy.
• 63% of customers actually expect companies to offer customer service through their social media – and 90% of social media users have already connected with a brand or business through their chosen platform.
• Adults aged 18 to 34 are most likely to follow a brand on social media, with 95% of them doing so.
• The likelihood that a consumer will recommend a brand on social media to others is about 71%.
• 71% of small-to-mid sized businesses use social media to market themselves, and of those who do so, 52% post at least daily.

Social media is where your audience is, and what’s more, it’s where they want to learn more about you. And your competition already knows it – that’s why marketers spent over $89 billion on social media advertising and marketing in 2019.
Let take this a step further and break down some of the important statistics by platform.
As one of the largest and longest running social media platforms, Facebook should not be neglected. Your ideal customers are likely there, you’ve just got to reach them.
• As of November 2019, there were over 2.41 billion active monthly Facebook users.
• Of those active users, 74% of them log into Facebook daily and spend an average of 38 minutes per day on the platform.
• 300 million people access Facebook Stories on a daily basis.
• 4 billion people are involved in Groups.
• 60% of Americans watch videos on Facebook.
• 15% of Facebook users shop on the platform – a number that will only grow.
• Facebook users click on an average of 11 ads each month.
• 90 million small businesses use Facebook Pages, Groups, and Messenger.
As the premier B2B social network, LinkedIn is important to your business in different ways from Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
• LinkedIn has 660 million registered users, with 303 million monthly active users.
• Designed with networking in mind, LinkedIn is 277% more effective than Facebook when it comes to lead generation and customer acquisition, with 45% of marketers gaining customers through the platform.
• In fact, 80% of social media B2B leads, and 46% of all social media traffic to company websites come from LinkedIn.
• 65% of B2B companies have used LinkedIn paid ads.
• 95% of B2B content marketers have used LinkedIn for organic marketing.
• 76% of B2B content marketers have used LinkedIn as a paid social media platform.
Another of the most popular and prolific social media platforms is Twitter. Although fewer people use Twitter than Facebook, the platform is very different, and therefore used differently, by both consumers and business.
• Twitter boasts 3 billion accounts, and 326 million active monthly users.
• This represents a 9% growth over previous reporting.
• Link clicks make up 92% of all user interaction with tweets.
• 78% of people who complain to a brand on Twitter expect a response within the hour.
• A whopping 83% of Twitter users who sent a tweet to a company – and received a response – felt better about the company and were more likely to do business with them.
• That said, only 3% of tweets about customer service issues call out the company’s username with the @ symbol – so you’ve got to watch out for them!
• People are 31% more likely to remember what they read on Twitter as compared to general online browsing.
• 53% of users say they made a purchase they first saw on Twitter.
• Twitter ads are 11% more effective than TV ads during live events. Think about that next time you watch a Superbowl ad!
Another important platform to use is Instagram, the image sharing platform. Instagram is as different from Twitter and Facebook as they are from each other. Which means you need to learn to use it (and its particular type of content) effectively with a well thought out social media marketing strategy to reach the best audience.
• As one of the fastest growing platforms, Instagram has 1 billion monthly active users, and about 500 million daily users.
• Instagram boasts one of the youngest audiences, with 72% of teens saying they use it.
• What’s more, 59% of users are under 30.
• Despite being known as an image sharing platform, videos actually get 21.2% more interactions compared to images, and 18.6% more than carousels.
• Surpassing Twitter in 2017, 71% of US based businesses now use Instagram.
• Ad spending on Instagram is 23% higher than on Facebook according to an internal analysis.
• Engagement with brands is over 10 times higher than on Facebook.
• In fact, 200 million people visit at least one business profile every day, and 130 million people engage with shopping posts every month.
• 11% of Instagram user shop through the app.
The writing on the wall is clear – decision-makers consult others before making a purchase. They ask friends, colleagues, and peers for their two-cents worth. And they usually take to social media to check the buzz around a product or a service.
• 65% of B2B Buyersrely on recommendations and review sites.
How does it look when the only online reference to your company is your website and an obvious PR article? A couple of results in the search engine don’t exactly inspire too much confidence.
• 55% look for informationabout your business on social media.
This isn’t really surprising – if people are going to complain or praise a company, they will do it where it has the greatest impact. Having a presence there means that you can drown out (and respond to) the negatives while making sure that you brag about the positives as much as you can. Social media management has become the new customer service.
• Articles beat advertisements and 80% of B2B decision-makers prefer them.
Content marketing is more important than ever. A handful of great articles, strategically shared over social media platforms, inform and add value. They help build trust and move actions along, but they do not drive them – which is something that today’s ad-weary customer appreciates.
• Don’t call us, we’ll call you.
How easy is it for people to find your business online? If you’re depending exclusively on your website, then it’s very difficult. 90% of B2B decision-makers don’t want to hear from you, which is why your telesales crew is not very successful. When they’re good and ready, they will find you – provided you’ve made an effort to stand out of the crowd.

These small business social media statistics paint a very definite picture – you’re ignoring new marketing approaches at your own risk.
You’ve likely tried a social media campaign for your small business in the past. If you dig hard enough, you might even find your business’s old Facebook page, sitting there all neglected and abandoned. It’s important to not get discouraged by past failures- the fact that you didn’t see any ROI back then could be due to a lot of things: you not understand the benefits fully, the fact that your execution was lacking, or difficulties with measuring success and replicating it.
Poet William F. O’Brien put it nicely: ‘It’s better to try and fail than never to try at all’. If that past failure is holding you back now, just consider what you’re risking:
Showing up is 80% of success. Your competitors showed up on social media – you didn’t – so they get to take home the bacon. A lot of your target audience never hears about your company because they don’t participate in the traditional marketing activities you’re still focusing on.
They don’t attend as many trade shows as in the past. They don’t read (what they think of as) spam mail, or don’t answer calls from numbers they don’t recognize.
Those who do hear about you often forget by the time they’re ready to purchase because your competitors are the ones they see in their social feeds. Social media offers an opportunity to regain that audience engagement among your customer base.
Add up everything you spend monthly on traditional marketing and digital ads. Now look at that number and realize that you could have reached at least a 100X more potential customers through strategic social media marketing (Facebook lets you easily estimate your reach for a given budget).
Let that sink in.
It’s true that most of those views and interactions wouldn’t actually translate into leads, but it’s the same with the conventional methods – not every phone call turns into a warm lead, nor does an ad read signify a sale. Spend your marketing dollars where they count. Right now, they count on social media platforms.
Google has been talking about the ‘Zero Moment of Truth’ for years now. Essentially, it describes how people shop today – from Google searches to reviews and testimonials. Social media figures prominently into ZMOT. It’s where people turn to for social proof.
If you’re not there, you’re breaking the chain, and your potential customer will move on to something else.
Without a strong social media presence, you will have a tough time making a genuine, ‘human’ connection with your potential customers. Research has shown that 29% of customers put a strong emphasis on that connection, and that shapes their purchasing decisions.
Customers often use social media to vent about brands. If you’re there, you get a chance to respond in real time, and turn a bad experience into a customer support victory. If you’re not, you end up not seeing those negative comments – causing them to pile up, overwhelming your marketing message.
For us at X2 Global Media social media is one of our passions! If you are curious to learn more about how social media marketing can benefit your business contact us for a free consultation contact@x2globalmedia.com.
The world is changing everyday! Don’t miss the latest trends in Creativity, Marketing and Business! We will bring the whole world to you.
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