We all know Social Media has boomed over the past few years, and sites such as Facebook and Twitter continue to grow in size and influence.
In Australia alone:
* 1 in 2 Australians use social networking sites, such as Facebook or MySpace
* On average, Australians are members of 2.7 different sites and 8% of all time spent on the internet is on social networking sites
* Each session at a social media site ranges between 20 – 30 minutes on average
* Facebook has more than 5 million Australian users as at May 2009
* LinkedIn's Professional Network has seen a 23% increase in users over the past 8 months, reaching more than 637,000 Australian users
* Twitter has experienced nearly 50% growth in the past month, with an annual growth of 3,220%
* In April 2009, Twitter was the 37th most visited site by Australian users, breaking in to the highly competitive top 40
Social networking has passed through its ‘rebellion’ stage where users reject it as a viable marketing tool, and is now identified as a legitimate method of reaching customers. Social media tools are highly influential, and have a significant (and now measured) impact in the real world.
I can almost guarantee that some - if not a large portion - of your target market are utilising these sites - and they are more than likely to be sharing honest opinions and information about their tastes and preferences.
Check out the full Symantec article on Social Media including how to stay secure online.
