What we know about email and social media use in 2011

I love reviews of the year – lists of highlights from the year’s books, films, music... and now, in new technology.

Many thanks to Vertical Response’s marketing blog for drawing my attention to the interesting research carried out by the Radicati Group, a technology market research group.

Here’s what they tell us about 2011:

• 2.8 million emails were sent every second – email is definitely not dead!
• Facebook (Fb) now has more than 800 million active users, more than 350 million of whom log on via mobile devices.
• More than 50% of Fb’s active users use Fb on any given day.
• The average Fb user has 130 friends.
• The average Fb user is connected to 80 community pages, groups & events.
• In the middle of 2011, Alexa ranked the top sites worldwide as Google (1st), Facebook (2nd), YouTube (3rd) with Twitter coming in 9th (it’s currently down in 10th position – probably pushed out temporarily by Amazon (currently in 9th position) because of all the Christmas shopping!
• Twitter has 100 million active users, half of whom log in daily.
• 40% of Twitter’s active users log in only to follow what others are saying, not to tweet themselves.
• The highest rate of tweets per second (TPS) currently stands at 9,000 (the news of Beyonce’s pregnancy in August 2011).

Not only does the blog pander to my love of reviews, it also includes some predictions for 2012 – and I love predictions, too! Here are 3:

1. Cross-platform works: using as many different platforms as your supporters use to communicate your message consistently across the platforms – that’s the way to go.
2. Email will continue to grow: email newsletters are powerful drivers of traffic, so you should develop yours in 2012. If you don’t already use an email broadcast system, you should seriously consider it – and it doesn’t have to cost much (or anything) – see link to CharityeMail’s special offer below.
3. Email will have to display well on mobile screens: this is going to be essential. An increasing number of people picked up their emails from their mobile devices in 2011 and this trend is set to continue.

Read more

• Alexa on top sites: http://www.alexa.com/topsites
• CharityeMail’s special offer for organisations sending out fewer than 500 emails per month: http://www.charityemail.co.uk/special_offer