Social media marketing is one of the best and most effective ways for companies to reach a broad audience. Websites like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and others have millions of users visiting them every day. Social media is a great way to reach these target audience members who can share your messages with their friends by doing nothing more than simply clicking a button. With all this in mind, how can you know which social media platform is ideal for you? The first thing you should know is where your target demographic lies. Here are some insights into who uses which platforms.
Facebook is by far the most popular social media platform, with 72 percent of adult Internet users reporting using the website, according to data from Pew Research Center. The platform is slightly more popular with women (66 percent of men vs. 77 percent of women) and is fairly standard across racial demographics. Seventy percent of non-Hispanic whites, 67 percent of non-Hispanic blacks, and 75 percent of Hispanics use the platform regularly.
It is most popular with the younger crowd 19 to 29 years old, as 82 percent of people in that demographic use Facebook. That percentage drops with age, as 79 percent of people 30 to 49 years old, 64 percent of people ages 50 to 64, and only 48 percent of people 65 and older use Facebook. Additionally, the percentage of users who use the platform remains fairly consistent at around 70 percent across all levels of education and income.
Instagram is slightly different from other platforms in terms of its target audience. For one, Instagram is one of the few platforms wherein white users are the minority. According to Pew, 21 percent of whites use the platform, compared to 38 percent of Hispanics and 47 percent of blacks. The platform is also highly favored among the younger crowd, as 55 percent of users ages 18 to 29 use the platform, while only 4 percent of those age 65 or older do the same. Similarly, an infographic from Adweek reported that 26.7 percent of its users are between 18 and 24 years old, and 32.3 percent of its users are between 25 and 35. Perhaps it makes sense that senior citizens are less interested in taking selfies and pictures of their food than are millennials.
Pinterest is one of the greatest platforms for companies that want to target women, as the website is heavily female-dominated, unlike other social media websites. Women make up about four-fifths of Pinterest’s user base and approximately 42 percent of US women have a Pinterest account. Furthermore, a study from BlogHer found that women trust sources on Pinterest more than they trust information from other websites. According to the study, 81 percent of women trust sources on Pinterest, while only 73 percent trust sources on Twitter and 67 percent trust sources on Facebook.
Additionally, Pinterest seems to be better at selling items than other social media websites. A little over one-fourth of US consumers use Pinterest to get product information, and 39 percent of US consumers use the website to find information about new products. On the other hand, among Americans, only 17 percent use Facebook and 18 percent use Twitter to get product information; only 24 percent of Americans use Facebook and/or Twitter to find out about new products.
LinkedIn is the social media website for professionals looking to connect with other professionals or advance their career. For that reason, perhaps it is no surprise that LinkedIn’s users are, on average, older and wealthier than users of other websites. Thirty-two percent of Internet users between 30 and 49 years old, and 26 percent of Internet users between 50 and 64 years old are avid users of LinkedIn. Furthermore, 46 percent of college graduates and 41 percent of people who make at least $75,000 a year use LinkedIn. In fact, LinkedIn has more college graduates and wealthy people than any other social media website besides Facebook.
This is just a brief snapshot in the complicated world of social media. While it is entirely possible for any person from any demographic to use any social media platform, this information gives some much-needed insight on the various trends associated with each website. It’s important for social media marketers to take a good look at what each website offers, and to tailor their marketing strategies accordingly. For example, an employment agency will find a lot of success on LinkedIn, but will probably not be as successful on Instagram. Remember to do diligent research on each platform before you decide to invest time and money into your social media marketing campaign.
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