subject: More People Spend Time On Social Media [print this page] According to the latest report from Nielsen, people who use the internet now devote more time to social networking than they did in the same period last year. According to the study, out of all the time spent by people online in the month of August, 17percent is used in social networking and blogs. In the same month last year, people only spent 6% of their time online on social networks and blogs.
Spending on online display and advertising has also more than doubled for August 2009 compared to the same month last year according to Nielsen. In 2008 spending for online sites were at around $49 million. This year, this figure has grown to approximately $108 million.
These figures show how individuals are now using different social media to gain information, entertainment and other benefits for their lives. The numbers also show how companies are already embracing social media to reach customers. Simply put, social media and networks are where the people are- those who produce content and those who consume content. This means that it is no longer relevant to engage in debate whether social media are here to stay. The fact is, social media use is now prevalent and if a company wanted to harness the power of social media,the time to start using them is today. If you want to aggressively market your products, you need to go where the people are. You need to reach them with different communication tools so you can really inform them of your business' values, the features of your products, etc.
Companies who have succeeded in using social media for marketing and other purposes have two things in common: 1.) They have been using different social media for at least several months, and 2.) they have dedicated personnel managing their social media accounts. This proves that social media are most effective when time is invested in them.
Not all companies have the time or the manpower to invest in social media to create content and update accounts to spread information. For these companies, one of the options that they have is to hire virtual assistants who can create content, update social media accounts and promote your company through different social networks. The virtual assistant will only work based on your needs and will deliver your required output. If you want the VA to work only 3 hours per day on your blog, Twitter and other social media account then you can hire the VA to work only 3 hours per day for you. This really makes social media marketing with the help of a virtual assistant affordable and doable.
