16 Reasons Why Brands, Businesses, and You Need to Be Active in Social Media

This infographic showcases 16 reasons why brands, businesses, and you need to be active in social media. Ignore these reasons at your own peril.

$30 billion – The expected size of the social media commerce market by 2015.

62% of adults worldwide participate in social media.

77% of online shoppers use reviews to make purchase decisions.

68% of shoppers go to social networking sites to read product reviews.

59% of consumers say user-generated product reviews have a significant or good impact on their buying behavior.

85% of customers expect businesses to be active in social media.

36% of people trust brands more when they have a social presence.

Business that blog get 55% more web visitors and 67% more leads.

81% of buyers reach out to friends and family members on social networking sites for advice before purchasing products.

78% of consumers trust peer recommendations.

Only 14% trust ads.

50% of consumer use social networks to provide product feedback, both positive and negative.

43% of marketers claim more sales after beginning a new social media campaign.

Social media engagement improves brand loyalty and increases sales by as much as 40%.

70% of online consumers in the U.S. pay attention to the opinions published on blogs, social networks, and forums.

32% of U.S. online consumers trust such social opinions over branded ads.

The average time on site for consumers who can share content using a social login is over 11 minutes (compared to 5 minutes without a sharing mechanism).

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Curator: John Kremer