According to a recent report published by NM Incite and Nielsen, consumers continue to spend more time on social networks than on any other category of sites—roughly 20% of their total time online via personal computer (PC), and 30% of total time online via mobile. Total time spent on social media in the U.S. across PCs and mobile devices increased 37% to 121 billion minutes in July 2012, compared to 88 billion in July 2011. Social media is still growing rapidly, and continues to offer consumers in the U.S. and around the world new and meaningful ways to engage with the people, events and brands that matter to them.

Facebook remains the top social network, but new social media sites continue to emerge and catch on

Facebook remains the most-visited social network in the U.S. via PC (152.2 million visitors), mobile apps (78.4 million users) and mobile web (74.3 million visitors), and is multiple times larger than the next largest social site across each platform. The site is also the top U.S. web brand in terms of time spent, as some 17% of time spent online via personal computer is on Facebook.

The number of social media networks consumers can choose from has exploded, and too many sites to count are adding social features or integration. Facebook and Twitter continue to be among the most popular social networks, with Twitter’s unique audience growing substantially year-over-year on mobile apps (134%) and mobile web (140%).

Mobile is still the trend

Data shows that the proliferation of mobile devices and connectivity are helping to fuel the continued growth of social media. The computer remains the predominant device for social media access, but consumers’ time spent with social media on mobile apps and the mobile web increased 63% in 2012, compared to the same period last year.

How does the continued growth of engaged social networking consumers play a role in your marketing plans for 2013?