Finding that seven in 10 Australians are now active social media users, Hootsuite has called on the nation’s small businesses to capitalise on an opportunity to ‘unlock critical revenue streams’.
The social media management platform has released Digital in 2018, a report of social media and digital trends globally. Representing 239 countries and territories, the seventh annual report – a collaboration with social creative agency We Are Social – shows that more than 4 billion people, or 53% of the world population, are now online, while active social media users number 3.196 billon, or 42% of the world’s population.
In Australia, 21.74 million people, or 88% of the national population, are now online. Meanwhile, the nation’s most popular social media platform, Facebook, saw its active user base increase by 6% to 17 million in the year since January 2017. This means 69% of Australians are now active social media users, with the average amount of time spent on social media platform each day being 100 minutes. Further, 88% of Facebook users in Australia are accessing the platform via a mobile, with the average amount of time spent on social media daily being 100 minutes. Meanwhile, Instagram’s user base increased by 36% to 8.8 million.
According to Ben Mulligan, Hootsuite’s Regional Marketing Leader indicated, the continued rise of social media use in Australia provided evidence that Facebook and Instagram will be vital tools for small businesses, this year.
“Making the most of this growth, and the direct access social media gives businesses to a relevant demographic and a captive audience will be a huge opportunity for 2018,” he told Dynamic Business. “Digital doesn’t have to be expensive, and tools that give you human connections at scale through the social can unlock critical revenue streams for SMEs.
“To realise the full potential of this increased access to customers, small businesses must focus efforts on strategies that go beyond a siloed approach to digital, ensuring social is at the heart of what they do. In 2018 consumers expect a seamless process, so making it easy to continue their brand journey wherever they are is essential. 88% of Facebook users access the site via mobile, so ensuring their journey can be continued on the move, and the interaction continues, pre, during and post-sale will build brand the equity that fuels SMEs.”
