Need a reason to use Social Media?
If you aren’t sure whether social media is a waste of time then perhaps these figures* may help you make up your mind to at least set up a Twitter accoutn and dip your toes in the water:
There are 87 percent more online social media users now than in 2003, with 883 percent more time devoted to those sites.
In the last year alone, time spent on social networking sites has surged 73 percent.
In February, social network usage exceeded Web-based e-mail usage for the first time.
Some Twitter Highlights:
- 47 million daily visitors
- The U.S. State Department asked Twitter to forgo routine maintenance so protesters in Iran would be able to communicate.
- When reports of Michael Jackson’s death broke out people flocked to Twitter for updates causing Twitter Search to run about twenty minutes behind real time
- Even NATO tweets http://twitter.com/nato_news
- Companies successfully utilizing Twitter include; @DellOutlet, @Zappos, @HomeDepot, @JetBlue,
- @IBMEvents, @DunkinDonuts
- Dell claims to have made over $3 million through its efforts in Twitter
* Nielsen April 2009, “Report: Social Media And Video Site Engagement Reshapes The Web”