Keeping Up With Social Media
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Google Ads, YouTube, and TikTok… with so many social media platforms to choose from, where do you start? The world of social media is everchanging, it can be hard to keep up and understand which platform is best to use.
We have come a long way since 2004, when a young Harvard student sitting in a dorm came up with an idea to connect students on campus. That small idea has now launched a billion-dollar Facebook social media network with over 2.4 billion monthly active users and more than 1.6 daily active users. Now, here we are almost 17 years later, and it is still the largest social network in the world with the biggest amount of digital ad spending in 2021. Did you know that over 300 million photos are uploaded to Facebook everyday? On average, 5 new accounts on Facebook are created each second, and there are approximately 8 billion videos viewed daily.
Developed in 2010, then acquired by Facebook in 2012, Instagram’s main purpose was to enable sharing of pictures and videos. With over 1 billion monthly active users and more than 600 million daily active users, this data shows Instagram is comes in as a close second to Facebook. Additionally, Facebook now owns WhatsApp and Oculus. It is easy to say Facebook is taking the social media world by storm.
What is the oldest social network on this list? That would be LinkedIn. LinkedIn was developed as a professional networking service that was founded in 2002 but later launched in 2003. Its original start was a place to simply keep your resume updated. Then, when Facebook was well into its prime it became a full-on social network. Today, it is not only used as a place to market yourself as a businessperson, but also a place to market your company. 5.3 million new accounts are created a month on LinkedIn and it is still a hot spot to recruit new talent.
How does a person get started on social media and how do you know which platform will suit your business best? If you are asking yourself this question, you are not alone. In a 2021 survey conducted by APEX Alberta and our partners found that 64% of surveyors from Southeastern Alberta are either beginners or still learning. A low percentage of people are not advanced users of social media because of how rapidly it is changing day-to-day.
In terms of what our surveyed businesses wanted to know, these were the highest-ranking results:
- Start your social media – 59% of our surveyors want to learn about time management and best practices for social media management.
- Grow your social media – 64% of surveyors would like to know how to create engagement that turns into conversions.
- Innovate your social media – 77% of surveyors want to understand insights into social media algorithms. This data shows us how users looking for further information, coaching, and training to help better themselves and gain a deeper understanding into the world of social media.
Where do you start? Where do you grow? Where do you innovate? To answer these questions related to social media, join us on June 8, 15, 22, 29 from 12 – 1:30 for the 6th annual 2021 Social Media Conference: Virtual Event Series.
Connect with any of our APEX partners – Alberta Innovates, Community Futures Entre-Corp, and Medicine Hat College or the Medicine Hat and District Chamber of Commerce to learn more. We have four great sessions jam packed with expert and local speakers. Please visit www.entre-corp.albertacf.com under upcoming events to sign up. Join us and improve your social media skills!
To learn more contact:
Shannon Bergstreser
403-528-2824
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Shannon Bergstreser is the Event and Marketing Coordinator and the newest team member for APEX Alberta, a collaborative partnership between Community Futures Entre-Corp, Alberta Innovates and the Medicine Hat College. For more information on how APEX can help your tech company start, grow and innovate, visit www.apexalberta.ca
