March 16, 2017 2 min read

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Social media for business can be tricky to get right. How do people use different channels? What’s the next big platform? And how do I make sure my content is relevant? User behaviours are constantly changing, so it means that companies have to adapt quickly.

What’s important to remember though, is that success lies in truly understanding your audience. Focus on getting to know them well, and stay up-to-date with changes and trends that are relevant to your business. Here are six social media facts and thoughts we find it useful to remember before we post, tweet or snap.

1. Social customer service drives revenue.

Replying to customer service requests on social is a great move for businesses. Consumers value a brand coming back to them on social, and will spend more as a result.

2. No image? No point.

While Instagram is a visual-first platform, everything from tweets to Facebook posts get a higher engagement rate if they include an image. See our guide to getting your social media truly visual here.

3. People don’t read.

Social media users aren’t engaging in long-form content as much as you think, so consider this when developing your content strategy.

4. But they are consuming more video than ever.

And it’s not just on YouTube- consumers are watching over 100 million hours of video a day on Facebook alone. Check out our post on how to create awesome social videos.

5. Young people are on all the platforms.

What this means is: don’t ignore the older social media channels.

6. The over-50s are getting onboard.

The demographic group age bracket 55-64 is the fastest growing demographic on social media, meaning there is huge opportunities for business wanting to attract older customers on social.

All images courtesy Infographic.ly.

Related: Getting Social Right: The Pitfalls And The Opportunities