52% October surge is busiest Social Media month

We’re regularly asked to implement and enhance social media strategies, and being an agency that specialises in brand engagement through to sale, social media now has a major role to play. The one elephant in the room is proving social media ROI, or its positive effect on a brand, beyond general awareness.

However a new study by intelligence experts Experian Hitwise, suggests that brands need to concentrate more on social media marketing over the next couple of months particularly, if they want to make the most of consumer’s engagement.

Experian Hitwise conducted the research, monitoring the trends in social media usage over the past two years. The results show that there is a peak in social media during the final quarter of each year, with the most intense traffic being registered in October and December.

James Murray, a Marketing Research Analyst at Experian Hitwise, believes that if companies manage to capitalise on the increased traffic in October, it may be easier for them to keep the momentum going well into the Christmas season, when sales are traditionally at their highest.

The study also demonstrates that Facebook has recovered from the traffic dip it suffered during the summer, registering 52% of all social networking traffic in September. This marks an increase of just over 3%, compared to July and August.

The traffic gain is hardly surprising, bearing in mind that September is the month when students start school and get back to their universities and adults return to work after having spent their holidays.

Organisations need to use this period to boost traffic and engagement beyond the natural surge, and social media strategies should include a tactical plan for a period of intensified outbound activity well in advance.

The old adage of Christmas starting earlier every year couldn’t be more true, and we predict the overall Christmas period being extended in 2012 as a direct result.