Social Media: Do You Know Your Demographics?

While SLS Consulting is a firm believer in utilizing the many different types of social media out there today when it comes to growing your business, but we also believe that you have to play it smart and know which platform is reaching the audience you are seeking.

For instance: if you are posting on Instagram or LinkedIn, do you know who your audience is? Do you understand the demographics involved?

Here is a breakdown of some of the more popular social media outlets and the audiences they attract.

Facebook

Despite the seemingly never-ending pronouncements concerning the imminent death of Facebook, the social media powerhouse is proving more popular than ever. In a survey from the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, some 71 percent of respondents said they use Facebook. Facebook is most popular among women, 18-29-year-olds and households with an income of less than $50,000 per year. Senior citizens 65+ seem to be hopping on the bandwagon as Facebook usage climbed 10 percent in one year within that demographic.

LinkedIn

Men are more likely to use LinkedIn than women. LinkedIn is more likely to be used by people 30-49 and 50-64 years of age. Those with college degrees are far and away more likely to use this platform. If your business is seeking to connect with a rural audience, you would be better to look elsewhere to gain traction with that audience; rural audiences virtually ignore LinkedIn.

Twitter

Twitter seems to be equally popular among men and women. If you are seeking to gain interest among 18-29-year-olds then Twitter is the place to be. There seems to be no differentiation in its popularity among urban and suburban users. Once again, rural areas seem to have little use for the micro-blogging site.

Pinterest

If you are seeking to attract women to your business, then Pinterest is a good bet. According to the Pew survey, women were much more likely to use Pinterest than men (33 percent vs. 8 percent). The platform is gaining traction among blacks and Hispanics also. Some research shows that older audiences tend to use Pinterest, but the Pew survey found that 18-29-year-olds are more likely to use it (27 percent vs. 24 percent among those in the 30-49-year-old demographic).

Instagram

Instagram use skews toward a younger audience (18-29-year-olds at 37 percent), while use among 30-49-year-olds is about 18 percent. According to the Pew Survey, users of Instagram are more likely to log into that site daily than are users of either Facebook or Twitter.

What can you take from this? Well, if you are trying to reach a more upscale and educated customer, you may want to concentrate more of your attention on LinkedIn. If you want to reach women, maybe your focus should skew more towards Pinterest.

Or you can simply talk to SLS Consulting about which social media platforms will be most effective for your business. We would love to help to expand your internet presence.