Americans are using social networks as a primary source of news more than ever before.
Compared to all other news sources, Social Media News has shown the highest rate of growth by nearly tripling in size between 2010 - 2012 (Pew). Many factors have contributed to this growth, including constant connectivity via mobile devices. Today, 50% of all American adults own a mobile device, which has added fuel to the social media news fire (PEJ). News is also the topic of choice when syndicating content on social networks. Dan Zarrella, Social Media Scientist at Hubspot, found that News was the most Retweeted topic among survey respondents in a recent study.
Adaptation to the social media news channel by a mainstream and pragmatic audience indicates that this technology has already 'crossed the chasm' in the innovation adoption lifecycle. Simply put, the social media news channel is poised for majority adoption.
These trends have not gone unnoticed. Savvy marketers are flocking to curate real-time industry news for their respective audiences on social networks. A successful social media news strategy has the potential for long-term target audience community growth on social networks.
The infographic below supports these findings and reveals how social media has evolved daily news into the beast it always wanted to be - a channel with broad reach and instantaneous broadcast. However, the most meaningful enhancement that social media has brought to news may just be the ability to react, converse, share, and participate in the news rather than simply consuming it.