We live in a social world. The average American spends 2 hours and 3 minutes daily on Social Media, according to this 2020 digital report from HootSuite and We Are Social. Social Media is an important way for businesses to humanize their brand, stay top of mind, increase website traffic, generate leads and increase sales.
What Social Media Platforms Are People Using?
According to the HootSuite/We Are Social report, the top social media platforms in the United States in 2020 are YouTube (79% of Internet users in the USA – see graphic below), Facebook (74% ), Instagram (52%) and Twitter (40%), followed by a multitude of others. Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are considered the top pure Social Media platforms that every business should be on, and depending on your target audience, others such as Pinterest, LinkedIn, Reddit, or TikTok could provide to be very valuable platforms to engage on as well. YouTube can be considered a cross between Social Media and a Search Engine, so all businesses should also be leveraging that platform. We recommend always making YouTube an important part of your Digital Advertising campaigns.
The Importance of Online Reviews
Qualtrics.com published a report on the importance of online reviews. Below you will see a few of the most important stats that they listed.
- 97% of people read reviews for local businesses. (BIA/Kelsey)
- 90% of respondents who recalled reading online reviews claimed that positive online reviews influenced buying decisions, while 86 percent said buying decisions were influenced by negative online reviews. (Dimensional Research)
- 91% of 18-34 year olds trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. (BrightLocal)
- 93% of consumers say online reviews impact their purchasing decisions. (Podium)
- 89% of consumers read businesses’ responses to reviews. (BrightLocal)
- 93% of people who use mobile to research go on to complete a purchase of a product or service. Most purchases happen in physical stores. (Google/Nielson)
- 3.3 is the minimum star rating of a business consumers would engage with. (Podium)
- 68% of consumers will leave a review if asked. (BrightLocal)
Developing a Social Media / Reputation Management Plan
It’s essential to develop a Social Media / Reputation Management plan that creates true engagement with your target audience and puts your business in a positive light and works in conjunction with all traditional and digital advertising campaigns. In today’s advertising environment, an advertising campaign that is not backed up with a strong Social Media / Reputation Management plan, as well as a powerful website, will produce lackluster results or outright fail.
At Revenue Developers/Media Negotiator, LLC, we are here to make all phases of your advertising work together to increase your Market Share and lower your cost per lead.