Social Media Stats

Healthcare Marketing: 15 Social Media Facts for Marketers

It’s a very strange irony that socialization is happening using computers.  And face-to-face interaction is conducted on Facebook.

In a presentation given at OMMA Social during Internet Week, and reported by Adrants. ComScore Media Evangelist Eli Goodman rattled off a plethora of juicy social media facts and figures. Here are but a few for you to digest.

  • 1.2 billion people access social networks on their computers.
  • One of every five minutes spent online is on a social network.
  • 1/3 of social network users are located in Asia Pacific. 
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  • Five of the most engaged markets for social networking are in Latin America.
  • Facebook has 55% global penetration. It is the third ranked site in the world for traffic.
  • One in seven minutes online are spent on Facebook.
  • Three in four of all social media time spent online is on Facebook.
  • There are only five markets in the world where Facebook isn’t the leading social network.
  • In January 2012, Facebook surpassed Orkut in number of users in Brazil.
  • Males over 55 are the fastest growing segment of social media users.
  • Women spend more time on social networks but men are catching up.
  • Digital Natives (15-24) have largest decline in email and IM usage.
  • One in four display ads are on social sites.
  • Five percent of all U.S. display ads are socially enabled.
  • Google Plus is the fastest growing social network reaching 25 million users in one month.

Consumers are socializing.  But it’s with a computer. The challenge is for healthcare marketers to discover how to join them there and engage them. It’s new ground.  It’s not an easy task.  We must continue to experiment, observe and learn. The task at times is daunting.  But the rewards could be substantial.

Healthcare Marketing: 75% of Americans Engage in Social Media – Is Your Hospital?

Research indicates that social media is beginning to rival traditional media in reach.

In a survey of 1700 internet users in the US, Nielsen Online found that 73% engage in social media at least once a week.  That makes the total social media audience consist of 127 million people.   Brian Morrissey reported the findings in a recent article in  AdWeek.

In addition to the total number of Americans engaged in social media, the survey rendered the following results:

  • 47% visit Facebook daily
  • 32.7 million play social games daily
  • Twitter has 105 million registered users but only 11.4 million or 6% use it daily
  • 11% read blogs daily

The number of users of social media is extremely significant.  The numbers rival and even outpace some forms of traditional media.  The 47% of internet users who visit Facebook daily compares to:

  • 55% who watch television daily
  • 37% who listen to radio daily
  • 22% who read newspaper daily
  • 11% who read magazines daily

The use of social media is continuing to increase.  As seen in this study by Nielsen, the percentages that are actively engaged in social media are comparable or greater than most traditional media consumers.

This creates new challenges for healthcare marketers.  How do we effectively reach this growing audience?   The answers are not easy.  And implementation is sometimes even more difficult.  But it is important to develop strategies to engage this burgeoning audience.

Traditional media is not dead.  It can still be very effective.  But social media has become pervasive and we must be creative and increasingly proactive in taking advantage of its growing popularity.

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