Erik Qualman, author of "Socialnomics" and the creator of the popular video series of the same name, has released a new clip filled with fascinating social media stats and how marketers are using this to reach out to consumers.

• Most brands, by now, recognize the power of social media and understand it's not just a passing fad. In fact, if Facebook were a country, it would have the third-highest population, behind China and India. 
  
• More people these days own a mobile device than a toothbrush.
  
• While brands seek out their "Oreo"-moment with real-time marketing messages, they're now looking beyond just Facebook and Twitter. 
  
• With the rise of Vine, companies are using the platform to promote their own products instead of relying a 30-second commercial spot, which makes sense considering the average human attention span is 7 seconds (just one second less than a goldfish).
  
• Did you know 20% of the terms typed into Google have never been searched for before? 

Initially posted in Mashable

Try to use a handful of targeted, keyword-driven hashtags to boost engagement on Social Media, especially on Twitter and Instagram! 

In fact, it is. As a recent study, performed by Forrester Research unveiled, GooglePlus does really help you to increase your brand awareness and brand engagement.

First, GooglePlus has more users than you think. 
Yes, it pales in comparison to Facebook — but so do most other social sites. Out of the 60,000 US online adults who responded on which social sites they used, 22% admitted that they visited Google Plus each month. That’s the same number for GooglePlus as for Twitter and more than the equivalent for LinkedIn, Pinterest, or Instagram. 

As such, a real follower base on Google Plus can be built. On average, as the study shows, top brands have collected 90% as many fans on Plus as on Twitter. 

Second, and more importantly, Google Plus generates much more brand engagement than you think. Out of 3 million user interactions, with more than 2,500 brand posts on seven social networks, studied, it appears that Brands’ Google Plus posts generated nearly as much engagement per follower as their Facebook posts, and almost twice as much engagement per follower as their Twitter posts.

To put it shortly, 

• Of 60,000 US online adults who use social sites, 22% visit Google+ each month.
• Brands have collected 90% as many fans on Google+ as on Twitter.
• Brands’ Google+ posts generated nearly as much engagement per follower as their Facebook posts — and almost twice as much engagement per follower as their Twitter posts.

Who can argue against these hard facts? Google+ is growing, and marketers can no longer afford to ignore this powerful social marketing tool.