Still wondering about how to create a powerful brand identity for your business? In our latest infographic, we reveal recent statistics on Internet usage and tips on digital branding.

Today’s brands don’t need television or radio advertisements to reach their target audience; they can leverage the possibilities provided by the Internet and social media. With more than half of the total population as regular Internet users, there should be no question about whether businesses should be active online or not.

Here we share recent stats and facts about Internet and social media usage, and highlight the importance of building a digital brand through content marketing and knowledge sharing in the company.

Check our infographic right below and remember to scroll down to read the summary of it!

infographic - why and how to build a brand online

1. Global Internet usage

In 2017, we live in a world where everything happens quickly. Planet Earth’s population in 1950 was only 2.53 billion. Compared to that, we are currently at 7.55 billion people globally. Safe to say – it’s no easy job to stand out from this huge crowd of human mass. However, there are numerous solutions for succeeding in just that — on both the individual and organizational level.

According to Internet World Stats, as of the end of June 2017, the number of total Internet users is over 3.88 billion. This number indicates that over 51% of the global population can make connections regardless of physical location. To top that, we find that 2.46 billion Internet users are social media users, as well, providing endless possibilities for businesses to tap into online networks.

2. Social reach

Ok, the total number of social media users is huge, but let’s delve into channel specifics. One way to demonstrate the scale of social media channels’ monthly active users (MAU) is to count them as if they were countries.

Here is a top 10 list of social media channels’ monthly active users and countries with their respective population figures as points for comparison:

  1. Facebook with over 2 billion MAU
  2. China with a population of 1.4 billion people
  3. India with a population of 1.3 billion people
  4. Facebook Messenger with 1.3 billion MAU
  5. WhatsApp with 1.3 billion MAU
  6. Instagram with 800 million MAU
  7. Twitter with 328 million MAU
  8. USA with a population of 325 million people
  9. Indonesia with a population of 264 million people
  10. LinkedIn with 106 million MAU

Neat, huh?

3. Digital branding

Perhaps you’ve acknowledged the importance of being online. But is there a strategy to stand out there? We recommend starting with building a strong digital brand. What does a digital brand consist of? Juntae DeLane, the founder of Digital Branding Institute and accomplished digital branding guide focuses his expertise on this topic. In one of his articles, he explains that the 3 key elements of digital branding are: 1) identity, 2) credibility and 3) visibility. In the overlapping segment of identity and credibility, DeLane positions social media. We should remember that when used strategically, social media gives a strong support for building digital brands. It also allows users to connect both professionally and personally.

4. Content marketing

Content marketing is an essential component of building up visibility and an identity online, and social media plays a crucial role in making this happen.

new research by the Content Marketing Institute, published in September 2017, illustrates the content marketing habits of the best-performing B2B marketers. These are most important findings:

  • The top 5 content types B2B marketers use are social media posts, case studies, videos, ebooks/white papers and infographics.
  • The top 5 social media channels successful B2B marketers use are LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram.
top 5 content types b2b marketers use

Social media at work

Social media plays a major role in today’s workplaces. A research on social media usage at work, conducted by Hinge Research Institute and Social Media Today at the end of 2015, reveals that the biggest proportion of respondents – almost 40% – spend 1-5 hours weekly on social media for professional purposes. According to the study, the top 5 benefits of social media at work are:

  1. Expanded professional network
  2. Keeping up with industry trends
  3. Attracting and developing new business
  4. Opportunities for professional partnerships
  5. Developing skills

Not only are these benefits important for employees as individuals, they can greatly benefit the brand as a whole.

6. Knowledge sharing

Quality content spreads like wildfire on social media and online users’ need for knowledge is greater than ever. So, how can we bring people closer to the information they seek? Leverage knowledge sharing! Engaging employees through their knowledge and skills and supporting them in sharing this knowledge online is one of the most powerful ways to integrate employees into the company mission and to collaborate with each other. Create a knowledge sharing culture within organizations where you emphasize employees’ professional growth and place value on sharing insights!

Haiilo Manager Haiilo Manager

Get your
free demo now!

Improve internal communications
and employee experience in your company.

Group 14