2012 was the year that social media stopped from being “the thing celebrities do” to the thing that businesses are doing to engage and communicate with their customers. For those that think social media is just a phase or just a fad, I’m sorry to say it’s here to stay. It will only evolve into something more powerful than already is.

You can find many lists of the top social media statistics for 2012 including Facebook has now reached one billion active members. Can you believe that translates to 1 out of every 7 people in the WORLD are using Facebook?

Here is my social media year in review for 2012:

Barack Obama tops the list. Not only did he win the Presidential race but he also had the most liked photo on Facebook with over four million likes. (Source: The Huffington Post) and his victory tweet @BarackObama – “Four more years” was the most retweeted tweet ever with over 800,000 retweets. Source: The Guardian

2012 Olympics was hyped as the “world’s first social Games”. Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt was the big winner, with more than 960,000 mentions during the Games. Source: Mashable

Social Media Has a 100% Higher Lead-to-Close Rate than Outbound Marketing. Source: Business2Community

If You Really Want to Increase Engagement on Facebook, You Cannot Automate. Source: Business2Community

23% of Facebook’s users check their account 5 or more times daily. Source: Socialnomics

85% of women are annoyed by their friends on Facebook. Source: AllTwitter

80% of social media users prefer to connect with brands through Facebook. Source: Business2Community

Social Media isn’t just for the young. Source: Pingdom
– 55% of Twitter users are 35 or older
– 63% of Pinterest users are 35 or older
– 65% of Facebook users are 35 or older
– 79% of LinkedIn users are 35 or older

77% of B2C companies and 43% of B2B companies acquired customers from Facebook. Source: Business2Community

If Twitter was a country, it would be the 12th largest in the world. Source: AllTwitter

The average Twitter user has tweeted 307 times. Source: Diego Basch’s Blog

Lady Gaga has 31 million followers, which is the most followed account on Twitter. Source: Socialbakers

The most followed brand on Twitter is YouTube with 19 million followers. Source: All Twitter

80% of Pinterest users are women and 50% of all Pinterest users have children. Source: Search Engine Journal

43% of people prefer Pinterest to associate with retailers or brands while only 24% chose Facebook. Source: All Facebook

Professionals are signing up to join LinkedIn at a rate of approximately two new members per second. Source: LinkedIn

72 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute. Source: YouTube

South Korean rapper Psy’s “Gangnam Style” has become the first video to reach one billion views on YouTube. Source: Newsday

32% of disgruntled customers would readily share their bad experiences via social media sites and blogs. (Source: Bigmouthmedia). Including Amanda House, who created the frozen yogurt “YoPro” who lost almost everything after Galen Weston Jr. of Loblaw Companies Ltd. did not make good on his commitment.

These are just some of the many statistics regarding social media. I would love to hear your favorite statistics that are not listed for 2012.