Social media stats are useful to review as you’re preparing to fine-tune your social media for the new year. If you look at the jaw-dropping social media stats below, however, we’d bet you’ll be inspired to do something about them.

The past year has shown us, more than ever, how important social media is as a marketing medium. In our work with clients at Rallio, we’ve also helped them gain a competitive advantage by optimizing their use of social platforms.

As you read these social media stats, be sure to put the action items into practice. Knowledge is power, but only if you use the knowledge to advance your goals.

General Social Media Stats

Browse the most noteworthy social media stats, and you’ll see that nearly half the world’s population is on social media. That’s over 3.6 billion people worldwide, notes Statista — a number that will grow to over 4.4 billion by 2025. (Some estimates put that figure even higher.)

Those are numbers you simply can’t afford to ignore. Your audience is already on social media, and it’s up to you to capitalize on the opportunity.

Action item: If you lack a social media presence entirely or haven’t put much effort into it, make social media a priority in 2021. Start by posting local content such as real photos and videos, engage with your audience by responding to comments and messages, and make sure you’re responding to online reviews.

Related: The Year in Review: Our Most Popular Blog Posts of 2020

Social Media and the Pandemic

Some 93% of U.S. adults say that a major interruption to their internet or cell phone service amid the pandemic would be problematic in their daily lives, according to the Pew Research Center. Although the majority do not see technology as a replacement for in-person contact, they see digital options as an aid during these times.

We’ve seen these statistics play out on social media as people turn to their feeds for the latest updates, inspiration and information from their favorite brands. We’ve encouraged companies to keep marketing themselves with the help of social media. 

Action item: When times get tough, that’s not the time to throw in the towel on your marketing. Ramp it up instead to make sure you’re still getting your message out to your followers.

Employee Advocacy

The use of employees and influencers to promote brands continues to be on the rise. Weber Shandwick reports these jaw-dropping social media stats: 98% of employees use at least one social media network for personal use, and of those, half of them are already posting about their company. 

These third-party endorsements, so to speak, impact buying behavior. Convince & Convert notes that 83% of Americans are more likely to purchase a product or service that’s recommended by a friend or family member.

Forbes further reports that brand messages shared by employees on social media reach 561 more people than those shared on a brand’s social media channels. They also earn eight times more engagement.

Need some dollar figures to wrap your head around? One November 2020 study in Public Relations Review found a correlation between employee advocacy and sales. “When people are talking about your organization, it helps elevate brand recognition, especially for companies that are in the sales realm and have growing goals,” states one study participant.

Gartner adds that a lead generated through employee advocacy or social selling is seven times more likely to close than those originating from other lead-gen tactics.

Bottom line: The evidence speaks volumes, and the stats above are just a fraction of the research showing the effectiveness of employee advocacy. 

Action item: Formalize an employee advocacy program that encourages employees to post brand-approved assets about your business. Gamify the process with leaderboards and rewards. Rallio has technology and tools to help you get it done.

Social Media Advertising

Marketers have tuned in to the effectiveness of social media advertising, something we coach our clients through regularly. Status Brew reports that the total percentage of marketing budgets devoted to social media ads is expected to nearly double by 2023. Moreover, 26% of people who click on Facebook ads end up making a purchase.

Read that again. Twenty. Six. Percent.

That figure doesn’t even account for the percentage of people who end up making a purchase after the fact. That is, ads are just one part of the overall marketing ecosystem that contributes to your lead gen and sales. They might become aware of your company through an ad, see it mentioned by a friend on social media, or come across one of your boosted local posts. 

Related: The Most Important Social Media Metrics to Track for ROI

Action item: Define your audience — their demographics, geographic location, interests and other characteristics. Boost high-performing content and local posts, targeted at that audience, to ensure more of your content gets seen than it would with organic reach alone. 

Social Media as a Customer Service Channel

In a case of social media hubris, some 80% of companies online believe they deliver exceptional social media service, according to Smart Insights. Only 8% of their customers agree with them.

Smart Insights adds that 21% of consumers prefer to message a brand on social media rather than pick up the phone. And 49% of consumers are likely to unfollow a brand if they experience poor customer service, says Influencer Marketing Hub.

Action item: Use the above social media stats to fuel your customer service on social media. When customers leave online reviews, send direct messages or interact with your content, make sure you respond quickly — ideally, within the hour, but no more than 24. To streamline the process, use technology like Rallio to pull all your engagements into one inbox. 

Handle any negative reviews with professionalism — a rude reply will get you unfollowed, too, and could have lasting repercussions. Your remarks could wind up living on indefinitely if your customer shares your response with their network, or if future customers see the interaction.

Social Media Stats on Stats on Stats

There are too many social media stats to mention in this article. If you want to go down a rabbit hole, by all means, don’t let us stop you. 

This post needs to stop somewhere, though, so we’ll leave you with a handful of extra social media stats mentioned by Influencer Marketing Hub:

• Of the internet users aged 16 to 64, 98% of them had visited or used a social network or messaging app in the past month. 
• In fact, those same 16- to 64-year-olds are on social media for roughly 2.5 hours a day.
• Facebook remains the most popular social network, with 2.7 billion monthly active users. 
• The top four mobile apps are Facebook, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and Instagram.

When all is said and done, the social media stats above show that opportunities abound for social media marketers. When you partner with Rallio for your social media technology and marketing needs, you can create some jaw-dropping social media stats of your own.