Social media can be highly effective and more organisations are using it as part of their daily PR and marketing mix. It is also time consuming and knowing which platform is right for you and your audience is increasingly important as more and more platforms vie for our time and attention.
All social media platforms have their own demographics, but as well as a bit of number crunching, it’s just as important that you reach out to your audience as a ‘person’ and not as a faceless organisation. It’s OK to have personality and to be informal on social media – in fact it’s essential.
After all – that’s why it’s called SOCIAL MEDIA!
Social media options open to you
I’ve picked out some of the favourites and highlighted some useful demographics to help you make up your mind:
The mega social media giant Facebook, is still regarded as ‘THE’ social media platform of choice and not just for staying in touch with friends and family. In the UK it boasts 31 million users, with almost the same number of men as women using it. It’s so popular, that around 60% of us now have a Facebook account in the UK.
The age group of users is older – with 26 per cent in the 25-34 age group.
Although not all the younger generation will be active Facebook users, there are still 2.5 million 13-17 year-olds who use the site – a statistic not to be sneezed at.
The business networking site not surprising has a slightly older demographic with just 21 per cent under the age of 35. Men make up 58 per cent of the user share of its 60 million views each month in the UK. Its search functions are useful for seeking out potential customers and business partners as well as for recruitment. Who doesn’t check out their job candidates regularly on LinkedIn?!
With around half the users of Facebook, Twitter’s microblogging site still pulls in an impressive 15 million UK users – with two thirds under the age of 34. Nearly 80 per cent of people use their smartphones to access it – with an almost even split in the battle of the sexes. It’s not used as widely by teens with just 26 per cent citing it as their favourite social media platform.
Pinterest is one of the fastest growing platforms since being launched in 2010. And it’s popular with women – very popular – with around 80% of UK users being female. As well as ‘pinning’ users can send messages with infographics and photos – the most popular ‘pins’ are around food and drink, although a wide number of subjects and topics feature from motivation to friendship.
Google +
In complete contrast to its female dominated rival, Google + mainly appeals to men – 63 per cent of its 400 million worldwide users are male. Over a third live in America and have an above average salary. In the UK, users are mainly in the younger age groups – 41 per cent are between 18-24 and 29 per cent are aged 25-34. Nearly half haven’t tied the knot and are still single – not surprising, given the younger age of most users.