Social Media Trends for 2013 and What They Mean for Your Company

This year, more than ever, we've seen the effect that social media and ever-evolving digital technologies have had on the world. According to an infographic created by Digital Insights, more than 8,000 users "like" a photo on Instagram every second. That totals 691.2 million likes a day. With all the online buzz, it's critical that your business take full advantage of the benefits social media has to offer.

Online activity for 2013

During 2013, about 4.2 billion people used their mobile devices to log onto social media websites such as Facebook and Instagram. To cater to Facebook's popularity, more than 10 million apps were developed to maneuver on and through the site.

The micro-status site Twitter reached an impressive number of users as well, and 28% of the retweets that took place on the site were in direct response to the inclusion of "please RT," meaning "retweet."

People today use social media as their main method of connecting with others on a personal level, as well as a business one. This year saw 42% of users on the popular career networking site LinkedIn update their profile information on a regular basis. Quite a bit of job hunting occurs online instead of through newspapers or referrals now.

The importance of online marketing

If you're a small business owner, it's important to be able to tap into all the activity that's occurring around social media websites. This doesn't just allow you to expand your pool of potential customers; it also gives your business an online identity and voice that is all its own.

Knowing how to use Internet marketing is a great way to get your business's name out there. If you want to double your results, extend your use of Internet marketing to multiple media outlets, such as the television and magazines simultaneously.

Having a strategic online marketing plan that properly targets your social media audience is crucial. Not only do you have to know your customer demographics, you need to learn how to interact with them the right way and use social media to your advantage.

Start dialogues on your company's Facebook page. Retweet Twitter messages that you like or that are have a direct correlation to your company's products or services.

Knowing how to use online marketing and social media properly, as well as other media channels, will help you to get your name out there affordably and help your company to flourish.

Update Dec-13-2013
Special thanks to +Dustin W. Stout for providing his feedback on this post. Here are the recent and most accurate official statistics Dustn.tv/active-users-2013. Also check out the conversation on Google+.

image by: doinasinfinitesolutions