Which Industries are Using Social Media; And Which Social Media Do They Use?

A common question among small businesses with limited budgets (that means most of us, right?) is where to allocate your online marketing budget.

SEO? Social media? Blogging? Today there are so many choices it can be confusing.

A recently-released report by Hubspot* may offer some guidance. The report took a look at 33 industries and determined where the online activity for a common keyword was for each industry; was it in search engines, on blogs or on social media?

It turns out, there are some distinct differences, depending on the industry. According to the report, online activity is centered on:

• Social media- for non-profits, consulting, oil, biotechnology, pharmaceutical, manufacturing, restaurants, transportation

• Search engines- for travel, insurance, cell phones, banking, airlines, real estate, video games

• Blogs' for government, the movies, music, fashion, marketing, healthcare

Another key issue the report looked at was which social media sites were used more for which industries. Looking at Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube (which Hubspot says are the 4 largest social media sites), the report found that references to the following industries are more prevalent on certain social sites than others:

• LinkedIn' consulting, biotechnology, pharmaceutical, manufacturing, advertising, banking, publishing

• Twitter' oil, spa, insurance, hotel, lawyer, fashion

• YouTube' video games, music, healthcare

• Facebook' cell phone, movie, restaurant, travel

These are just some of the fascinating findings in the HubSpot report. However, do't just take this data as gospel. As the report notes:

'Do not simply look for the most active area for your industry and conclude that the optimal place to market is the most active space. As with many things in life, it is possible that great benefits can be accrued by following the less travelled path.'

Consider the report just one source of data. Use it as one input but not the only factor in your decisions about where and how to market online. Viewed that way' as helpful input but not the only input' it is very good information when developing your online marketing strategy and plans.

For additional background, please also see my earlier post here at Business.gov Community:?

10 Social Media Benchmark Statistics: How are You Doing?

*Note: Hyperlink directs reader to non-government Web site.

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Anita Campbell is the Founder of Small Business Trends*, an online publication and community serving small businesses, and BizSugar.com*, a social media site for small businesses.

About the Author

My name is Anita Campbell. I run online communities and information websites reaching over 4  million small business owners, stakeholders and entrepreneurs annually, including Small Business Trends, a daily publication about small business issues, and BizSugar.com, a small business social media site.