The amazing influence of social media is particularly evident in the world of social media marketing. Within three years of its launch, it had earned $150 million dollars. In April 2012, Facebook announced its purchase of the now hugely popular photo and video sharing platform Instagram. Clearly, by that time, Facebook had become the go-to platform for business owners and marketers looking to promote their products and reach their smartphone-obsessed customers. How social media influences purchase decisions Ever since the smartphone craze took over the world, people use social media to discover new products, find sales and discounts, and learn about new purchase locations. Social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest, have a proven influence on customers’ online shopping habits. Here are a few interesting stats: The majority of online shoppers (43%) find extra information about products on the bookmark-orientated site Pinterest, while 26% and 25% of customers respectively use Twitter and Facebook to learn more about desired products. Facebook is used by 15% of customers looking for purchase locations. Word of mouth marketing hasn’t disappeared entirely: in this day and age, customers use social media platforms to recommend products and share testimonials. Facebook is the most popular site for product sale alerts, followed by Twitter, and Pinterest.
You don’t need to look very hard to find proof of the ever-growing influence of social media in all aspects of our private and professional lives these days. Social media has the power to control and dictate our behavior in so many ways – from the way we shop online, to the way we vote in a presidential election.
The amazing influence of social media is particularly evident in the world of social media marketing. Between 2015-2016, social media marketing expenditure in the US increased by a staggering $2.25 billion dollars.
And that’s not all – projected data shows that the annual amount spent on social media marketing in the US will reach $13.51 billion in 2017, $15.36 in 2018, and a whopping $17.34 in 2019.
Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and others all offer lucrative ways for small business owners to boost their content marketing strategy, build a stronger brand identity, and improve their relationship with customers. But have you brushed up on the statistical evidence to help you rethink social media lately?
Let’s have a look at the timeline and some of the key achievements of social media platforms to paint a picture of its potential.
Social media is younger than we remember
Social media is everywhere, to the point that it seems like it has been around forever. Even the rare breed of people who don’t use social media have grown accustomed to hearing others talk about ‘likes’, ‘shares‘, ‘tweets’ and ‘favorites’. It’s hard to remember a time where these words weren’t part of the common vernacular.
It actually wasn’t that long ago, though. The majority of today’s most popular social media platforms are only slightly over a decade old.
Let’s take a quick look at Facebook as an example of just how quickly a social media platform can turn into a global phenomenon.
The rise and rise of Facebook
The biggest social media site in the world, Facebook, was founded in 2004. Within three years of its launch, it had earned $150 million dollars. It was obvious right from the get-go that Facebook, which currently boasts over 1.5 billion users, was going to be a huge success.
Here’s a quick timeline of significant dates in Facebook’s history:
- In April 2008, Facebook launched its chat feature, and in February 2009, the infamous ‘like’ button was introduced.
- In April 2012, Facebook announced its purchase of the now hugely popular photo and video sharing platform Instagram. The price? A mere $1 billion.
- That same month, Facebook revealed that its Android App was downloaded more than 1 million times a day.
- In May 2012,…
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