REVEALED: Oz Pty Facebook Addicted
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Facebook invasion continues as 97% of Oz businesses admit to using the network.


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97% of all social networkers use Facebook and we go on Twitter three times a day on average (or 22.65 times per week).

Basically, social networking is now part of our everyday lives.
That according to Telstra’s Sensis Yellow Pages social media report, who quizzed almost 2000 businesses on social media usage.

And a massive 84% of the 2000-odd businesses across Australia admitted they use the Net every day.

But its not just Facebook who is reaping the rewards of our increased online presence – the number of Aussie businesses with Twitter (16%) and LinkedIn (14%) accounts have doubled in the past year.

But although many businesses are on Facebook & Co, they are less aware of what to do with them after it goes live.

And it seems around one third of Aussie small and medium business are now on the social media ladder – almost  double last years figure, with almost 80% of large companies.

But many SMBs are failing to provide the sort of information consumers look for on social media, the report warns.
Consumers most commonly seek out giveaways and discounts from brands on social media, but only around one third of SME offer this, currently. 

A quarter of small businesses admitted to not having any strategy in place to drive traffic to their Twitter and Facebook sites, with the most popular method (23%) cited by small businesses being a link from their business’ website.

The most common use of Facebook and Twitter for businesses is to invite online comments, ratings or reviews, a trend that is clear if you go on most accounts of any major brand, whether its Samsung or the local restaurant.

And businesses are also planning to invest more in their online social presence in 2013, the report shows.

“There is a clear opportunity to build consumer relationships and sales through social media, however, businesses need to understand more about how and when to connect with their followers” Simon Betschel, Sensis Group Manager Emerging Business & Innovation, said.

“Social media plays a critical role in marketing and reputation management” and “is being underestimated by many brands and businesses,” he warned.

 

And as Yellow pages’ traditional business is in decline it has come up with Social Solution – a new service which provides a team of experts tasked to manage SMBs’ social media presence and maximise returns.

Social Solution offers support to SMBs by developing a targeted strategy to complement their overall digital approach and marketing mix.

For Facebook or Twitter, Social Solution can provide businesses up to five posts or tweets per day, in addition to ‘conversation management’ with social media users across a selection of the ‘Big Four’ social media sites: Facebook, Twitter, You Tube and LinkedIn.

Yellow Pages owned by Telstra Sensis conducted the report in conjunction with in conjunction with the Australian Interactive Media Industry Association (AIMIA).