Everyone is currently talking and writing at length about the ongoing rise in the use of social media and its importance and significance in the business world. The same can be said for smart device usage patterns. What’s really interesting about these trends is how they actually fit together. The facts point to an interesting relationship between mobile smart device use and social networks, one which is sending giants like Facebook into a bit of a panic to adapt to the 1.2 billion mobile devices out in the world.

Here are some statistics to help illustrate what is going on:

Mobile

  • 46% of US mobile phone owners had a smartphone in 2011
  • More smartphones were sold in 2011 than PCs
  • 32% of employees around the world now rely on more than one mobile device during a typical workday
  • 25% percent of US mobile Web users are mobile-only
  • 77% of Smartphone users call or visit a business after searching for local info on their phones.

Social Networking

  • 96% of 18-35 year olds in the US are active on a social network
  • Half of Facebook’s users are now accessing it via smartphones and tablets.
  • 1 in 5 Americans age 18-35 use Twitter
  • Pinterest has 10.4 million currently registered users
  • Google has about 50 Million active users

All social networks, but especially Facebook, are scrambling to redesign their sites to provide more functionality on mobile platforms –both for users and advertisers. As mobile smart device use grows, so does the traffic to social networks, since users spend more and more of their time interacting on these sites looking for information on products and services, customer reviews, and friend recommendations.

The online world is converging around being social and the platform of choice is mobile. The consumer world is deeply integrated into these platforms as well. From Yelp reviews to Facebook shares to Foursquare check-ins, Re-Tweets and Pins, consumers are forming vast webs of product and service resources.

Beyond having a mobile-ready website, businesses must also harness these trends using techniques like community building and management, content marketing and other inbound strategies. Blue Hat is an agile partner that gives businesses the right keys to unlock their maximum potential throughout the online frontier.