Before getting too settled into the new year, it’s always wise to take a look back at last year to see what we can learn moving forward. In that spirit, I thought to share an infographic I stumbled across from digital marketing agency Didit that offers a nice, concise wrap-up of social media in 2014. Some of the findings you’ve probably heard before—social media continues to thrive, mobile is huge and Facebook reigns—but others likely not so much.
Below I’ve listed a handful of key facts from the infographic and, for PR pros, a takeaway for each to consider in 2015:
1. Tumblr and Pinterest grew the fastest in 2014, at respective growth rates of more than 120 percent and more than 110 percent.
PR takeaway: Due to their rising popularity, you may want to consider leveraging Tumblr and Pinterest for your brand or business if you haven’t already—we offer some tips for using Pinterest here and here. Note also that a major reason why Tumblr and Pinterest are so popular is their visual appeal, chockfull of images, videos and other media. If you haven’t caught on that multimedia is imperative to effective content, you’re behind the curve. Studies have shown that adding multimedia to your content can increase visibility up to 10x, so be sure to always include engaging multimedia elements in your efforts.
2. Tumblr, Pinterest and especially Snapchat have younger audiences than Facebook. Seventy percent of Tumblr and Pinterest’s users are 16–34 years, 71 percent of Snapchat’s users are under 25, and 25 percent of Facebook’s users are over 45.
PR Takeaway: Mind the age gap when creating and distributing social media content. Teens flock to Snapchat, young adults seem to go for Tumblr and Pinterest while Facebook reaches across the board and above. To have the most impact, you’ll want to think about the audience for which you’re aiming and choose a platform accordingly—or, better yet, craft and tailor your content specifically to a particular network’s audience.
3. Facebook is still the #1 social media network with 1.35 billion active users. Its users also log in more frequently—but the company admits its organic reach is poor.
PR Takeaway: Even with limited organic reach, you can’t ignore Facebook’s massive audience in favor of newer, trendier social networks altogether. Facebook should still be a part of your social media toolkit—just make sure it’s not the only tool in the box. As far as improving organic reach, you’ll want to focus on crafting your posts in a way optimizes their visibility. More on that here.
4. Multi-networking is huge, with 91 percent of people visiting YouTube, Facebook, Twitter or Google+ in the past month, and one in five checking out all four.
PR Takeaway: This, to me, is one of the bigger takeaways in showing the value of an omnipresent social media strategy. Going back to the idea of a well-stocked toolkit, you’ll want to make sure to have a presence on multiple social networks to maximize reach and visibility. Reaching the same user across multiple platforms—as opposed to just one—also increases brand recognition, making your brand more familiar to that user and promoting it as one to watch.
5. Four in 10 use a mobile phone to access social media, and it’s quickly becoming a go-to device.
PR takeaway: We’ve all heard time and time again that mobile is exploding, and here’s more proof that it’s time to listen. In 2015, mobile will continue to become less of an afterthought and instead take center stage, meaning you’ll want to think of ways to harness mobile in your campaigns. When developing content, be sure also to consider how it will appear on a mobile device, and format accordingly to be most effective.
For more insights, be sure to check out the full infographic below, courtesy of Didit:
Source: Didit (www.didit.com).