It's that time of year when digital geeks and Social Media addicts like us get their fix of the stats, graphs & shiny percentage growths from their 'enabler', the Sensis Social Media Report.What we most love about this trusty research, apart from its concise nature and easy-to-eat graphics, is that it reports specifically (and thoroughly) on the state of social media inAustralia. As with many pursuits, we do things differently in this wide land. It's great to have fresh insights into the usage, adoption and other trends across the social platforms by our own audiences and brands.Gathering information from 800 consumers and 1100 Australian Businesses, the report delivers some interesting figures on the growth of Social Media in Australia and on how people are using it. Most tellingly, 8 in 10 Australians are on social, a climb of 10 points since 2016. Also worth noting are the times of day when people here are using social media. We froth on intel like this... it guides us in the scheduling and posting of content for our brands, allowing us to gain maximum reach at the best times.[caption id="attachment_3791" align="aligncenter" width="1024"]

Source: Sensis Social Media Report 2017[/caption]When it comes to brands and big businesses, it's reported that Aussie users show "increased levels of trust for brands that interact with customers in a positive way on social media (up from 52% to 64%) and businesses with engaging and relevant content (up from 52% to 63%)."There are growing indicators that people are more likely to check out a brand's social media vibe before making a purchase, too. When people were asked what was most likely to deter them from following a brand, 'irrelevant content', 'too many ads' and 'excessive content' were the reasons given.As to why people are following, conversing and engaging with brands on social, well the reasons differ:[caption id="attachment_3794" align="aligncenter" width="1024"]

Source: Sensis Social Media Report 2017[/caption]For brands, the objectives are somewhat clearer: "The leading reason why businesses use social media is to assist the marketing and sales function. Providing a line of contact is also a relatively influential factor. " For our beloved brands, it's a similar story: having platforms where that 2-way communication can exist, as well as getting authentic & entertaining content out to targeted audiences is invaluable.An interesting stat that we found validates our efforts (Yay us!!) is that 100% of Large Businesseswho outsource their social strategies are trusting them to a Digital, Web or Internet Agency (such as New Beach Media ), over PR agencies or Specialist Social Media agencies.Makes sense, really.To produce the kind of content that gets the right reactions, having a full service agency with a nimble team is desirable. With the ability to shoot, create, post, boost & report, we really are the 'one-stop shop' that bigger brands are seeking.

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Source: Sensis Social Media Report 2017[/caption]

The full 2017 Sensis Social Media Report is a worthy read, even if your eyes normally glaze over at stats. It serves as an insightful guide of how we ride this behemoth wave that is Social Media in Australia.