6 Social Media Statistics All Business Owners Need To See

In today’s day and age, social media is must have for all businesses.

Social media is a cost-effective and intuitive solution to build your brand, grow connections and add a human element to your company.

While the bigger social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn have been around for quite some time, each are constantly evolving, bringing new functionality and trends with each passing year.

As we reach the halfway mark of 2015, we thought it would be handy to investigate some of the most important statistics regarding social media for the rest of the year.

1. “Instagram’s Per-Follower Brand Engagement Rate is 4.21%, Higher Than Any Other Social Network”

Research company Forrester recently released the results to a study of more than 3 million social media interactions. The research giant found that for every 1 million followers a brand has on Facebook, only about 700 active engagements occurred (i.e., “liking” photos, commenting on posts, etc.).

Twitter’s engagement rate was around 300 for every 1 million followers, meaning the average follower to brand engagement rate for top social media platforms was about 0.1%.

The exception was seen in Instagram, which recorded a full 58 times more engagement per follower than Facebook and 120 times more engagement per follower than Twitter.

If you haven’t already setup Instagram for your business, it might be time to re-consider.

2. “Tweets with Images Receive 150% more Re-Tweets”

If your business is looking to set up a Twitter account, it’s important to know which content gets the most engagement. Since Twitter limits posts to 140 characters, communicating efficiently with your audience can be difficult.

As reported by Jeff Bullas, visually eye-catching posts receive significantly more re-Tweets and engagement than written post do. Remember this as you build your company’s Twitter presence.

3. “Google+ Has Over 300 Million Active Monthly Users”

Often overlooked, Google+ is one powerful social media network.

Looking past the fact that it can be setup to integrate with Google Places, Maps, Apps Premium and websites, recent statistics have shown that the social network has an increasing number of active monthly followers, a number that warrants consideration in the universe of social media for your business.

4. “87% of a Facebook Page’s Engagement Happens on Photo Posts”

Although Facebook’s per-follower engagement rates are dismal, you can slightly increase your brand’s odds of getting engagement by posting visual content.

The Social Media Examiner recently reported that photos are the most engaging type of content on Facebook, with a whopping 87% interaction rate from fans!

Posting photos on Facebook is the best way to get more attention from your fans because images are easier to consume than text. However, you must remember to share high-quality photos that interest your target audience.

5. “Brand Engagement on Twitter Decreases If Your Brand is Tweeting More Than 3 X a Day”

If your business is tweeting frequently, you might want to re-consider. SocialBakers conducted a study that shows brands with more than 3 posts a day experience diminished engagement with their Tweets.

Posting too much on any social media network can result in your followers feeling overwhelmed by the constant presence of your brand.

A tip is to keep an eye on you company’s metrics to analyse your ideal post-per-day number. This will allow you to maximize engagement and give your followers room to breathe.

6. “53% of Customers Who Follow Brands in Social Media Are More Loyal to Those Brands”

If you’re starting to doubt the effect of social media on brand success, consider this statistic as reported by Convince and Convert.

Building a strong and active social media presence can signify wealth of loyal brand fans, allowing you to gain recognition across a broader audience.

If you haven’t already harnessed the power of social media for your business, we hope these interesting statistics can help point you in the right direction.