How to Optimize Your Content Strategy With Social Listening

Social media has grown drastically in the past decade. With several successful social networks, accompanied by the continuously broadening user base, the data and insights available through social listening can drastically help improve your marketing efforts.

If you aren't familiar with social listening, sometimes called social media monitoring, it is the practice of collecting tweets, Facebook shares, blog posts and much more, sorting through the data, and finding key insights and trends related to your product, service or industry.

Companies engaging in social media often leverage tools such as Sysomos, Radian 6, Hootsuite and others to "listen" and utilize this data to help inform their social strategy.

But social listening can actually do much more than inform your social strategy. It can help you find new keywords to target via paid search, find new networks or websites to run display ads on, and it can also help you optimize your content strategy.

Optimizing Your Content Strategy Through Social Listening

Having rich, unique, engaging content has become a solid way to help grow your business and audience. How that content is used is dictated by your business model, but the fact is, content plays a role in getting users to your website and getting them to come back for more.

One area where agencies and companies struggle is determining what content should create and provide to their audience. That's where social listening comes in.

Each day, millions and millions of tweets, status updates, Tumblr posts, and any other forms of social postings touch on a wide array of topics. Chances are, they are talking about your product, service, or industry. By understanding what is being said, you can help craft your content strategy.

For example, let's take a look at an industry such as yoga equipment. Through the social listening tool Sysomos, we can see that the term ‘yoga' was mentioned over 12.5 million times in the first half of the year across the most popular social networks.

We also can see that a significant portion of the conversation is happening on Twitter. So let's dive deeper into that specific channel.

When using social listening tools, you can dive all the way down to specific blog post, forum post or even a tweet or status update. You also can look at trending information to understand what types of conversations occur most frequently.

In the case of yoga, various other terms are mentioned frequently alongside the term yoga. Due to the very broad nature of yoga, many people on Twitter are talking about products, working out, fitness and even some things that may not be related to your business. The great thing with social listening tools is you can constantly update your query. If you feel some of terms shown aren't relevant to your business, you can update your query to not include those terms.

This is the just the tip of the iceberg. Through social listening, you can understand who your most influential tweeters are related to your product or service. From there you can review the content they share, what questions they ask, and help inform what content you should have on your site.

Making Recommendations from Social Insights

Continuing with the yoga theme, if your business happens to sell yoga equipment, you can easily see there are significant conversations occurring around what type of equipment to buy. People new to yoga as well as aficionados both use social media to gather information prior to purchasing new mats and other gear.

While you could jump on your blog and create the next Top 10 Yoga Poses to Lose Weight post, your time may be better used creating something your audience is asking for.

By creating reviews and comparison shopping information related to your products, you answer their needs. Strengthening your product descriptions and providing insights on how specific gear matches up with body weight/size could help sway those users to making the purchase through your site.

You also can get an understanding of what format your audience wants content in. Instagram and other photo/video based social networks contain a significant amount of conversations related to yoga.

Search for #yoga on Instagram and you'll be bombarded with more than 5 million unique posts from this year. With many users sharing pictures of yoga poses with pristine backdrops, a company selling yoga products could potentially follow suit, and feature their products within the photos and videos they share.

Summary

This type of thinking is applicable to almost all businesses. If you understand what your customers are saying, what they need, and how they want to get it, you can craft the right content that meets their needs.

Unfortunately, just publishing great content isn't enough. You must also leverage social listening, content marketing, and SEO to ensure your audience reaches your content. But having an understanding of your audience and what they need is the first step.

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Creating a Hashtag to Build Engagement at Your Event

You can now find them on every major social network (excluding LinkedIn), and more than likely, your customers or clients are already using them in some way or another.

There really are many ways that you can use hashtags for your business’s social media marketing, but in the interest of time, I’m going to focus solely on using them for your events.

Why should I use a hashtag for my event?

As a business owner, you may be putting on all kinds of events to show your expertise and acquire new clients or customers! It’s time to use hashtags to increase awareness and the visibility of your events.

By including a hashtag in your promotions, commentary, and post-event thank yous, you’re not only pulling a conversation together, but you’re also making it easy for people to find photos and attendee interactions with your event.

How do I choose a hashtag?

Your event hashtag should be:

• Unique: Search Twitter for the hashtag you have in mind. If it has been used recently, you will need to rethink it. If not, have at it!
• Short: Remember, on Twitter you only have 140 characters to use. Because that’s where most of the conversation will be taking place, you need to make sure to keep your hashtag short.
• Related: Your hashtag should reflect your event. Ex: Small Business Week (#SBW2013) or the World Cup (#WorldCup).
• Memorable: You want your attendees to use this hashtag when they are talking about your event. This means that you want them to be able to remember what hashtag is associated with the event, without them having to try and find it every time they want to talk about your event.

How will anyone know about my hashtag?

Similar to any other marketing campaign, if you do not properly promote it no one will know it exists. The same goes for your new hashtag.

Your hashtag should be everywhere! But let’s break it down a little more:

Before your event

1. Build awareness: Your hashtag should be included in all social promotions of your event.
2. Listen: Track your hashtag on social sites so you can thank people who use your hashtag when mentioning that they’ll be attending your event (or better yet, promoting your event for you).
3. Be visible: Make sure to include your event hashtag on your registration page, informing attendees to “Join the Conversation.”

During your event

1. Create conversations: Use a program like tweetbeam.com (that’s my favorite) to project the conversation on a screen. This will entice others to join the conversation during your event.
2. Invite: Have any and all of your speakers announce the hashtag and point out your tweetbeam stream.
3. Join in: Make sure to engage with your attendees who are using the hashtag. Retweet them and ask questions. Just make sure you’re not too invasive. This is not the place for you to advertise your business.

Tip – Don’t think you’ll have time to engage during the event? Schedule a couple tweets around your event content before the event begins.

After your event

1. Write digital thank you cards: You now have a social list of all of your engaged attendees. Take the time to thank them individually for joining you at your event.

   Tip – Make sure to follow all of them and create a list specifically for event attendees so you can remember who they are down the road

2. Keep the conversation going: Continue to follow the hashtag until the conversation dies. You’ll be surprised how much people will continue to talk about a great event. Continue to retweet and mention the pieces of great content your attendees are sharing.
3. Gather multimedia from the event: Searching for your hashtag on individual social networks or using a program like Storify to pull all networks together allows you to view all images and/or videos that were shared (along with all other great content) around your event.

Tip – This content can be used for a new Facebook album or Pinterest Board. 

How do I manage my event hashtag?

Hashtags can be very visible, just like all social promotions. Moderating is the key to a successful hashtag. The last thing you want is someone promoting your event, or worse, asking you a question about your event and no one is there to answer.

Managing events can be hard enough, so make sure you create a plan to also manage your event hashtag.

Tip – Creating a stream specifically for this hashtag on a platform like Hootsuite can really help you keep track of the conversation. 

Does using a hashtag expose my business to spam?

Yes, it can. However, you should pat yourself on the back if this happens. The only time you’ll find spammers using a specific hashtag is if it’s a “trending hashtag.”

A trending hashtag is a hashtag that is being used more than they were previously. The trending list is on Twitter to help people find “breaking news” from across the world in real-time.

So if you’ve made the “trending list” and begin to have spammers invade your hashtag, DO NOT PANIC! This means you are wildly successful!

Tip – Post about the fact that there are spammers, so your attendees don’t accidentally click on anything the spammers are sharing. 

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Why Women are the Real Power Behind Social Media [INFOGRAPHIC]

Never underestimate of the power of a woman, especially when combined with social media. From the number of active users on a social network to the frequency of their interaction with other users and brands, women are a powerful force in the social media realm. Curious how much power women hold on social media? Take a look at the infographic below from Finances Online for some possibly surprising statistics. While it is well-known that women dominate Pinterest, they also outnumber men on four of the other top six social networks: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Tumblr. However, men continue to account for the majority of LinkedIn’s users. In addition, 30% of women use social media multiple times a day, while only 26% men report using social media sites several times a day.

Why Women are the Real Power Behind Social Media [INFOGRAPHIC]

Never underestimate of the power of a woman, especially when combined with social media. From the number of active users on a social network to the frequency of their interaction with other users and brands, women are a powerful force in the social media realm. Curious how much power women hold on social media? Take a look at the infographic below from Finances Online for some possibly surprising statistics. While it is well-known that women dominate Pinterest, they also outnumber men on four of the other top six social networks: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Tumblr. However, men continue to account for the majority of LinkedIn’s users. In addition, 30% of women use social media multiple times a day, while only 26% men report using social media sites several times a day.

Women and Brands on Social Media

Why is this information important to marketers? Because women are more likely to interact with brands and in more ways then men. In particular, a higher percentage of women show support of a brand, access offers, stay current on, and comment on social media posts by brands than men. For companies, there is an opportunity to reach out to  and build relationships with female brand influencers. In addition, there is a possible opportunity  for brands to increase post engagement if more posts are tailored towards the female audience. But keep in mind posts are always dependent on the brand’s target audience and which platforms they are using.

So when you are evaluating your social media strategy, remember that women interact with brands more often and for a wider range of reasons and they consume and share news more frequently than men. Check out more interesting statistics about how women use social media below.

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4 Statistics About Pinterest Users You Need to Know [Study]

A new study reveals new Pinterest statistics on women vs. men pinning, most popular pin categories, brands getting the most repins, and top pinning times.

Since launching its Guided Search function, Pinterest is quickly evolving into a discovery platform.

In fact, it's possible that Pinterest could become a major e-commerce player and potentially challenge Google on product search, according to RJMetrics, which ran a study of 50,000 random pinners and their pins to see how people are using Pinterest.

So who exactly makes up the Pinterest audience?

4 Cruel Reasons We Suffer Social Media

Businesses spend billions on it. People spend billions of seconds on it. But what is it we’re buying?

Social media has become this unstoppable cultural phenomenon that’s almost an intrinsic necessity to communicate and be accepted by peers. There are the rogues out there who privatize their accounts and use these platforms as glorified message boards, or at least those who recognize the potential marketability of LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and even Google+.

But what are all the insomnia-induced newsfeed scrolling, hundreds of friends, and connections for? It seems the age of information calls for virtualized relationships. I can’t argue this, nor can I dismiss the fact that businesses need people to market to. Those people are online, so why not jump in and earn the self-gratitude your company deserves?

It’s because of this:

There are so many interlinked ways to communicate and be noticed. The once virtualized social experience is now a quiet battle of managing 30+ passwords and trying to avoid being “that guy” even though there are no rules.

For personal use, the platforms to choose from work to our advantage. More ways to express ourselves, learn, and connect online, right? From a business/marketing perspective, this means an overwhelming amount of virtual chores. But they do them, which takes us to the first cruel reason we suffer social media:

1. Peer Pressure

It was well into the Facebook craze when I finally got an account. It was college, freshman year, and without friending everyone on campus I’d be utterly uninformed and virtually marooned. I think I was hesitant to “conform,” though now I’m glad I did.

The socialization element of Facebook and Twitter is unarguable. We connect with long-lost family members, create pages for fundraisers, and get to share our lives via virtual photo albums. Of course there are the bad apples who use social media “wrong,” and we all know who they are. But who’s to say there’s a right way? Whatever the case, a simple de-friend does the trick.

The millions of companies that use social media are the ones I’m concerned with, the businesses that started smoking beneath the bleachers in 10th grade because it was cool. But did they know what they were doing? Did they actually make the effort worth the effort? Unlikely.

Businesses…in our virtual social experience? How invasive. They invest the marketing power into social media because it works (sometimes). Why then does that hip coffee shop have half the city following them when your lumber yard does not? Because the hip coffee shop full of swirling e-cig vapor is already part of the social experience.

You know who gets social media right? The one-horse town corner store with 200 likes from regulars.

2. The “So-Me” Element

Social media — labeled “So-Me” in this section — has turned our exciting news and cool Instagrams into attention-grabbing ploys to justify our status to peers. This isn’t always the case and not even entirely evil or wrong. It’s like having the best joke at the party and everyone laughs (likes) and retells (shares) it to their friends.

So-Me is just a digitized catalogue of our ups and downs, wins and flops. There’s nothing wrong with this.

The worst of So-Me comes out when companies can’t stop talking about themselves. This doesn’t bother me, of course, because I never follow or like these businesses. Acknowledging, liking, sharing, and following a company page that publishes ultra-promotional content is like selectively pausing the DVR or fast forwarding to watch a specific commercial.

This is why so many businesses hire experts, have entire teams of analysts, and generate leads through social media. These brands are either household names already or simply publish content that avoids the “So-Me” side-effect of using Facebook and Twitter like billboards.

To the average user: Use social media however you want. It was built for you. Businesses: Don’t invade social space with deals, discounts, and bargains.

3. The Numbers

Brands spend billions on social media because it’s all 1s and 0s. Activity can be analyzed and deconstructed, the value of words chugged through tools, and post views published in easy-to-use admin panels.

From what I’ve seen, this flood of numbers is like the flashy lights in a casino. Who can’t resist the $1 million bank of slots? Or, better yet, why not throw a stack of chips on Red 12? It’s like 50-50, right?

For businesses, social media (like casinos) is obvious. We know this because of facts, reports, and statistics compiled over the years. Have a new blog post? Great. Throw it up on Facebook and maybe win a few clicks and hopefully a business lead from a reader. Announcing a super discount for holiday shopping? Pay Twitter or Facebook to expose your post to tens of thousands of targeted users.

These paid promotions are becoming more prominent all the time, largely due to the shortfall businesses experience when trying to build up their followers. “Hey,” you may think, “why not spend $5 to shotgun-market this e-store discount and quintuple this quarter’s revenue using our social followers?”

Guess what: The house has the odds.

This links back to the social connection and invasive advertising companies are infamous for on Facebook and Twitter. These paid promotions, however cheap, seldom pull meaningful traffic to business-sponsored websites and stores. It’s like buying the biggest billboard space in Times Square and filling it with four words (in Comic Sans, of course): “We’re Desperate. Shop here.”

Too bad social media users (me, at least) seldom care to acknowledge “Sponsored Posts” that show up on their newsfeeds where they’d rather see what their friends are up to.

However intoxicating they are, numbers and reports can’t compete with organically building a sizeable fan base on social platforms. The numbers give brands hope that they’ll be the next trending thing on Twitter and Facebook when really they distract these companies from being themselves.

It boils down to potential and the off-chance that a post will tickle the masses. Unfortunately, the ball usually rolls into Green 00 and they keep trying until they hit the money.

4. The Addiction

Being part of the social buzz is addicting. Getting likes, shares, and comments is addicting. Watching fan views on a business page is addicting.

Social media has become a part of who we are, what we do, and how we interact. There’s no substitute, not when businesses invest so many dollars into it and entire industries have sprouted from it. Social media is the new way news is spread and people are informed.

The social media industry is evolving as it becomes more accessible and interactive. As long as it stays “pure” (an emphasis on information and friendship / an un-emphasis on poorly delivered advertising in the social space), why resist?

There’s nothing wrong with sharing thoughts to boost self-affirmation or social marketing. The latter works all of the time, though I’d say 95 percent of businesses active on Facebook are rolling downhill with their pants down.

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How to Keep Your Brand in the Social Media Conversation

Once you create a Twitter account and link it to your website your brand will become a viral sensation, right?

Wrong.

Social media algorithms and strategies change daily, so how do you keep your brand in the conversation on social day in and day out? Oftentimes my clients think their social media presence will develop overnight which is unfortunately not the case. Mashable’s list of Top 10 Brands on Social Media in 2013 reveal specific reasons why brands are popular on social media. Now of course, the term “popular” should be used loosely, as brands all have different goals and measurements of success on social media. Some are looking to increase their following while others are looking to achieve higher engagement rates. It is important to keep in mind when developing a social media strategy that it must be tailored specifically to each client or brand in order to meet their goals.

Though those listed on Mashable’s Top Brands list are all well-known companies, there are reasons other than their large following and popularity that landed them on this list. How did they do it? Here are a few tips to ensure your brand stays relevant on social media, for the long-term:

1. Consistency

Consistency on social media is arguably the best way to ensure success. Companies will lose followers quickly if they do not share updates regularly, typically daily, with relevant content and important news. It is similar to maintaining relationships offline: your relationships will fade if you are not checking in regularly to nurture them. Of course, consistency on each social network can vary. On Twitter, I recommend posting at least 3-5 times daily. On Facebook, 1 post daily will work just fine. It is generally appropriate to post on LinkedIn at most once per day, excluding job postings. Instagram updates should be shared multiple times per week, but time sensitive posts will work the best! Posting a picture of your dinner last night at 10:30 am this morning will be off-putting to your followers, so make sure to post at appropriate times! On Pinterest, there is no limit; pin away!

2. Engagement

Would you consider someone your best friend if you didn’t talk to them regularly? I don’t think so, and it works the same way on social media. You don’t just want to talk at your followers, but rather you want to talk with them. I will guarantee a rapid loss of followers if your posts solely include company updates without a call to action (i.e. how your followers feel about it, if they have any input, etc.). The best way to maintain a high following is to engage with your followers. Offer advice and then ask your followers if they have anything to add. Promote a company event and then target specific users to attend. Does a follower have a question for your brand? Make sure you answer it in the shortest amount of time possible.

3. Thought leadership

There’s a reason why celebrities and CEOs have a much higher following than average twitter users: they are experts in their field. Does your CEO have an opinion on a controversial topic? Promote that (and tag them if possible)! Followers become uninterested if your posts only link to articles without taking a position (that’s what journalists are for). Your company’s reaction to current events are important and valuable to your followers. You don’t want your brand to be the follower; you want them to be a leader! Take a position and stick to it.

4. Know your audience

Your followers have specific interests and they are following you because you discuss topics that they are interested in. If you are a healthcare company who all of a sudden starts posting about popular rap music, your followers will be confused and will likely unfollow you because you are no longer relevant to them. All companies have an established target audience, so make sure you adhere to that on social media, too. Brand standards and messaging apply to social media, so it is vital to understanding who your target audience is on all platforms.

5. Have a plan

It may come as a surprise that social media strategies are artfully crafted, similar to all PR and Communications plans. Your posts must maintain a specific message and position in order to achieve relevancy on social media. Are you aware of a national event taking place? Plan out where you can insert your brand into that conversation on social media. Target your audience and align your messaging with the interests of your followers. Find a way to promote your thought leadership. Research popular hashtags where you can maximize your brand's reach. Having a social media strategy will ensure your brand stays relevant on social media.

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6 Social Media Things to Do Before Breakfast

When you get involved in social media, you quickly learn that it requires regularity and discipline.  Creating a daily routine is of course one of the best ways to approach this.  Over time I have put together a 30-minute routine.

Here are the things I do before breakfast:

1. Email
   1. Delete uninteresting/unwanted emails.
   2. Mark emails to be treated during the workday.
   3. Answer urgent emails.
   4. Check emails from LinkedIn groups for good content and mark for later reading.
   5. Review Google Alerts and mark interesting items with GetPocket.
2. Social media monitoring
   1. Review social media monitoring dashboard and react appropriately.
   2. Go to Hootsuite and review monitoring columns and react appropriately.
3. LinkedIn
   1. People Who viewed your profile is a perfect opportunity to start a conversation or even get connected (selectively).
   2. Contacts show people that have a New job, Birthday or Work Anniversary.  This again is a great opportunity to start a conversation.
   3. Review LinkedIn Inbox for messages and connection requests.
4. Twitter
   1. Check tweets that mention me and act appropriately
   2. Check new followers out
   3. Check who unfollowed me and decide on course of action (recapture or accept)
   4. Quickly review the recent Tweet stream
5. Facebook & Google+
   1. Check personal and company timelines for posts from friends and fans
   2. Wish friends a Happy Birthday
   3. Check messages and take action if needed
6. Content sharing
   1. Share my quote of the day or content from others across a number of platforms
   2. Contribute and share content through my Tumblr blog on Social Media tools

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Do Small Business Employees Use Social Networks? [INFOGRAPHIC]

The days are gone when email was considered as a killer application, social networking sites holds that distinction and now ruling the world. It began as a venue for teens but now people of all ages use Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and other social sites for both personal and business use. According to a study by GFI, 37% of workers daily use Facebook at offices, while only 25% said they have never used it. Take a look at infographic that provides a profile of the American small business employee and looks at their opinions on a number of pertinent issues affecting not only their lives but also the businesses they work for.

Survey Says: Small Business Workers Get Social - Infographic

Key stats from infographic

• 33 percent workers use social networking for personal reasons while they are working.
• 48% of managers say they are Facebook "friends" with employees they supervise.
• 64 percent use some kind of social networking service on a regular basis.
• 75% says social networking user has not effect on their productivity while 18% acknowledge it makes them a little less productive.

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Social Media Image Dimensions: The Ultimate Guide [INFOGRAPHIC]

Visual marketing plays an important role in brand awareness and outreach.

Brands experience almost 50% more audience engagement when sharing an image or video on their social media platforms, which is why social networks are increasingly featuring and promoting visual content. Optimizing your visual space online is key to achieving maximum exposure for your name and your brand, and helps build your fan base.

It can be difficult to keep up with all the social media image dimensions for Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram, and YouTube. They seem to change on a regular basis, and often it’s not clear where to look for the correct sizes for cover images, profile pictures, and other graphic elements. Enter Tent Social, a digital marketing agency that specializes in social media solutions and and content creation. Their team created the infographic below which shows the heights and widths of all those images you need to make your social media channels look fantastic. The guide also includes character counts for the 7 most popular social networks.

Social media image sizes: A quick reference

Facebook image dimensions

• Facebook cover photo: 851 x 315
• Facebook profile photo: 180 x 180

Twitter image dimensions

• Twitter header image: 520 x 260
• Twitter profile image: 81 x 81

Google+ image dimensions

• Google+ cover photo: 2120 x 1192
• Google+ profile photo: 270 x 270

LinkedIn image dimensions

• LinkedIn cover photo: 646 x 220
• LinkedIn profile photo: 100 x 60

Pinterest image dimensions

• Pinterest profile photo: 160 x 165

Instagram image dimensions

• Instagram profile photo: 110 x 110

YouTube image dimensions

• YouTube cover art: 2560 x 1440 
• YouTube cover art safe area: 1546 x 423

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10 Social Media Facts, Figures and Statistics

Social media facts, figures and statistics are a moving feast of metrics that can make your head spin.

The numbers are large and what is apparent is that the evolution of mobile platforms is impacting when, where and how often we access our social networks of choice.

Facebook’s big drive since going public last year was to increase its mobile advertising. It has achieved that goal with 41% of its revenue now coming from mobile. Google is lagging in this space and is in catchup mode.

Twitter continues to grow as it looks to float in the next 12 months. Twitter has been scrambling to monetize its platform and now has self service advertising that is accelerating its revenue.

It is predicted that in 2014 it will reach $1 billion in advertising income.

So here are some social media numbers to chew on.

1. Facebook

There are now over over 1.15 billion active Facebook users.That’s the main fact you need to know.

This is a 21 percent increase in 12 months. Facebook is still the social media network of choice and its numbers are huge no matter where you look.

2. Google+

Google+ has become the second biggest network during the last 6 months and continues to grow rapidly. It seems to have reached a tipping point in consciousness and people are curious about how to use it.

The latest statistics indicate that there are 343 million active monthly users

3. Twitter

Twitter is a platform that is bridging the mass media and social media gap. Television is using the social network to obtain feedback and comments. It’s power lies in its simplicity, real time feed and news breaking capabilities.

The latest numbers on Twitter indicate that it has  has over 288 million monthly active users. This is according to GlobalWebIndex Study

The number registered currently sits at over 500 million. So there are many registering but not inhaling.

4. LinkedIn

LinkedIn has been working on making its platform more social and is social media’s quiet achiever. According to some reports it has now reached 238 million users.

Want more LinkedIn facts, figures and statistics? 

5. YouTube

YouTube is the giant of online video and this social media giant now has over 1 billion unique visitors every month. It’s big.

6. Instagram

Instagram was Facebook’s first major purchase (when it had 13 million users early in 2012) and despite paying top dollar it has helped Facebook move into mobile advertising and also is continuing to grow.

It has now reached 130 million users.

7. Pinterest

Pinterest captured many people’s imagination shortly after it launched. The online “pinboard” social media platform has had significant impact on web design (even seeming to have influenced the  new Google+ design)

It currently sits at 70 Million users.

8. Vine

When Instagram launched the video feature for Instagram there were many pundits predicting the demise of Vine  (Twitter’s new 6 second looping video social network).

Twitter has just announced (with a tweet )that it had 40 million users. That is significant growth considering it was only launched in January, 2013.

In June it only had a user base of 13 million. That is a growth of 27 million in just under 3 months! No wonder Twitter is a proud parent.

9. Tumblr

Tumblr was bought by Yahoo last year because it had broken into the top 10 sites in the USA and its audience was young tech and savvy. It is an easy to use blogging platform that is both visual and mobile. There are some statistics showing that is shrinking after being bought by Yahoo.

Currently it has 245 million monthly unique visitors according to Qantcast.

10. Foursquare

Foursquare has been with us for a while now after being established in 2009. Its attraction is that it is a mobile media channel.

Number of users now sits at 30 Million.

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