Social media sites are becoming more important for driving how people view online content, according to a new study by Search Engine Journal.
- The top eight social media sites account for driving almost 30 per cent of all web traffic in the third quarter, up from 16.4 per cent a year ago. Of those top eight social media sites, only Facebook, Google+ and Pinterest are growing – each getting at least a 50 per cent spike in their share of visits. Twitter, StumbleUpon, Reddit, Youtube and LinkedIn saw shares decline by more than 24 per cent.
- Facebook alone drove 22.4 per cent of traffic to websites. It’s the fastest growing social media site in terms of audience share and there’s still plenty of room for upside.
- Twitter’s share of audience is looking bad. It’s down to less than one per cent of the social media audience now overall.
Being ‘trendy’ may not suit your business
Marketers looking to reach their audience should take heed of the Shareaholic Social Media Traffic Report, but also take the statistical findings in context. While knowing that Pinterest is now the second-largest social media network after Facebook is interesting, but it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s right for your business to be there.
If you’re a baker, posting pictures of your custom designed cakes will go over well. If you’re an accountant, posting pictures of your balanced general ledgers won’t have the same effect.
