The Demographics of Social Media Platforms
When it comes to choosing the right social media platform for your marketing needs, it can be difficult to decide which option is best for you and your business’s needs. Each social media platform has a different demographic and intended use, so for the best return on your investment, you’ll want to make sure you’re using the right platform to deliver your message to the correct audience.
Breaking down social media platforms by numbers
According to this Pew Research Center report for 2018, Facebook and YouTube still continue to dominate the social media landscape. That being said, younger Americans (those between the ages of 18 to 24) are embracing new social media platforms and using them much more frequently.
Women are slightly more likely to Facebook than men (74% compared to 62%)
68% (about 2/3rds) of U.S. adults use Facebook:
Ages 18-29: 81%
30-49: 78%
50-64: 65%
65+: 41%
¾ of these people access Facebook on a daily basis
What does this mean? Facebook remains a ruling social media platform for most Americans. If you want to reach your target audience, they’re most likely going to be on Facebook.
YouTube
Men are slightly more likely to use YouTube than women (75% compared to 72%)
¾ of U.S. adults use YouTube
Ages 18-24: 91%
30-49: 85%
50-64: 68%
65+: 40%
What does this mean? YouTube is slowly outnumbering Facebook when it comes to use, though it’s not technically a social media platform. While you’re likely not going to get the engagement you’re looking for through YouTube (which is a downside if you’re looking to connect with your audience), you’re still likely to reach your target audience and spread your message effectively through video-sharing and YouTube video advertising.
Pinterest remains way more popular with women as opposed to men. 41% of women use Pinterest, while only 16% claim to use the platform.
Another thing to note about Pinterest is that a majority of the users come from suburban households.
LinkedIn remains popular with recent college grads and those in high income households.
50% of Americans with a college degree use LinkedIn
9% of those with high school diploma or less
WhatsApp popularity has always been popular in Latin America, and that popularity extends to Latinos in the U.S.
49% of Hispanics use WhatsApp
14% of Caucasians/whites
21% of African Americans/blacks
What about younger users?
94% of 18-24 year olds use YouTube
78% of 18-24 year olds use SnapChat (71% of which visit the platform multiple times/day)
71% of 18-24 year olds use Instagram
45% of 18-24 year olds use Twitter
Snapchat
While most Americans are still using Facebook as opposed to other true social media platforms, Snapchat is gaining a lot traction, especially for younger users. Like Facebook Snapchat users are also more likely to log into the platform multiple times a day, making it a great place to reach a younger audience.
So where should you focus your social media efforts? Ultimately, it’s up to you as a business owner to create a customer profile and figure out which social media platforms you should be using to reach your audience. That being said though, there’s still a lot of value in Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. Those remain the big 3 when it comes to social media.
YouTube is a great place to feature a video ad and share your video content in a space that is welcoming of it. Facebook is great because you can reach a wide and diverse audience. Instagram is a bit more refined than Facebook, but nowadays Facebook and Instagram go hand-in-hand, especially when it comes to advertising. Pinterest is great if you’re looking to reach a higher income, female-based audience for your products and services. Snapchat is a good option if you want to reach younger people that are more likely to see your ad based on how much time they spend on the platform.
What social media platforms do you use for your business?
