In a new survey from the Pew Internet & American Life projects claims 72 percent of American adults are using some form of social network.

The Pew group has been monitoring social network usage since 2005 and they say there has been ‘substantial growth’; for instance, the number of older adults (aged sixty five and above) has tripled from 13% to 43% in the last 4 years.

Also last October the Pew group found 50% of all adults between 50 and 64 years old actively used a social media site. It also comes as no surprise that 89% of adults aged between 18 and 29 years use social sites, whilst 78% of the 30 to 49 years do.

Note: this report only covers the US, but given the social networks concerned span the globe, there is no reason to assume similar uptake is occuring in other ‘mature’ economies.

Whats all this social networking mean for businesses?

Simply put, you need to be in it to win it!

Think about it, what other medium allows you to ‘plug in’ into peoples wants, interests, or even desires on a global scale? By engaging people properly in the social media space a business can gain the following:

• Yes, literally a following. If a business produces content which has ‘social traction’ they can gain an online fan base..
• They can also gain valuable feedback directly from the ‘horses mouth’ as it were. This means businesses that engage in the social media space can respond quicker to trends and enquires quicker than their competition.
• They can also ‘educate’ their followers. Think of it like creating a virtual marketing team who like and understand what services or products you provide.

Perhaps the question should be, why aren’t you in social media yet? Maybe you don’t know how to approach it, maybe it seems a bit of an unknown landscape?

Well, we can help. We have direct experience with the social media space and can assist your business in getting the most out of it. Please contact us and let us help you get social.