After two years of feeling disconnected and isolated due to the global pandemic, it's worth taking a look at the social media landscape as it pertains to your business once again. After all, a locked-down world took to the internet in droves to feel some kind of human connection, and more times than not, that meant chatting it up with high school chums or arguing politics with perfect strangers to get some sort of adrenaline pumping through the ole veins. The need to feel alive has never felt more essential.
Social Media, for better or worse, has more users now than ever. And more and more, people rely on it to get their neurotransmitters sparking doses of dopamine every day.
So what has changed? What are the emerging trends? Where should you consider investing your time, attention, and dollars for the most ROI?
Let's dig in.
Most people probably get the basic demographics without diving into much data. Facebook is the largest (boasting 2.91 billion active users), with the largest group being men in the 25-34 age bracket. 56% of Facebook’s active users are men. Facebook is still the behemoth, but growth has slowed to a trickle.
Having said that, the number one fastest demographic that is growing on Facebook is the 65+ crowd. Facebook is known as the best social platform for local marketing, community building, advertising, and, hold your breath... Conversion. Yep. I said it.
Number of monthly active users: 2.91 billion
Largest age group: 25-34 (31.5%)
Gender: 43% female, 57% male (no data on other genders)
Time spent per day: 33 minutes
Next up is FB's little sister, Instagram. Insta has slowly been sneaking up over the past few years, and now can boast an active user base of 2 billion. Instagram does well with younger users (from 18-34 making over half of the active base), and an almost equal split between men and women.
One of the best-kept secrets is that Instagram has become a power house for Social Ecommerce. If you're posting on Instagram, you may have noticed that it's easier to build a following than other platforms. The science says 36% of its users regularly follow brands, compared to Facebooks 19%.
Number of monthly active users: 2 billion
Largest age group: 25-34 (31.2%), with 18-24 close behind at 31%
Gender: 48.4% female, 51.8% male
Time spent per day: 29 minutes
TikTok is the elephant in the room. TikTok is easy to ignore if you're of a certain age, but a prudent business marketer should not sleep on it. It's bustling, and has stolen the "hip" factor from Instagram. With over a billion users (and exploding growth), this one is for the ladies. 61% female, the average user spends about 90 minutes a day scrolling. And we're seeing Influencers claiming their stakes now, so it looks to have staying power.
You should consider marketing on TikTok if you can produce high quality video content that is entertaining (60% of users say they're there for the funsies!). In contrast, TikTok says that about half of their most popular videos have a strong emotional drive to them. So, think relatable and authentic here.
Number of monthly active users: 1 billion
Largest age group: 10-19 (25%)
Gender: 61% female, 39% male
Time spent per day: 89 minutes per day
Linkedin, or "Facebook for Professionals" as it has been described, has a reputation for serving an older demographic. But since the pandemic started Linkedin has had hallmark growth - especially in the Millennial bracket.
While you might think of Linkedin as limited in your marketing endeavors, I am here to testify that I receive several unsolicited sales pitches every week. But seriously, its B2B implications are worth considering. The real winner on LinkedIn is long-from content, which gets plenty of organic engagement when done right.
Number of monthly active users: 810 million
Largest age group: 25-34 (58.4%)
Gender: 48% female, 52% male
63% of LinkedIn users access the network weekly, and 22% daily
Snapchat saw 57% YoY revenue growth last year. Nice. This little platform is popular with the young-ins (think teens) and early twenty-somethings. All I know is that it has some fun filters. There is also plenty of room for adverts.
Snapchat is awesome for video ads, young audiences, location-based marketing, app marketing. Check out the stats:
Number of monthly active users: 319 million
Largest age group: 15-25 (48%)
Gender: 54.4% female, 44.6% male (no data on other genders)
Time spent per day: 25+ minutes
My 5-year-old LOVES YouTube. She'll watch Frozen videos and funny cat vids for way too long. Funny thing is, my 13 year old and my wife does the same. I can't tell you how many items on my daughter’s Christmas wishlist was discovered as YouTube ads. Just sayin'.
Number of monthly active users: 2+ billion
Largest age group: 15-35 (highest reach)
Gender: 46% female, 54% male
Time spent per session: ~30 minutes
I have to admit, I sleep on Twitter a lot. I use it, but I haven't made it the center of any marketing campaigns for any of my clients. Know why? It's said that its advertising audience is 6.5%, compared to Facebook at 36.7%. But still, if you want to reach a predominantly male audience, Twitter might be your huckleberry.
Pew research says that Twitter users are young, college-educated, wealthy, and better looking than the rest of society. Just kidding on that last one. 😬
Number of daily active users: 211 million (up from 187 million)
Largest age group: 18-29 (42%)
Gender: 38.4% female, 61.6% male
Time spent per day: 31 minutes
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Social Media used to feel like a novelty, a way to unwind after a busy day. But it has become increasingly normative in all aspects of life - news, parenting, comparative shopping, and more.
Does your Social Media strategy consider these types of demographics as you plan content, calendars, and campaigns? Are you shooting for any lead, or warm qualified leads? I ask, my friends, because I talk to people on the daily who are wasting hundreds, even thousands of dollars advertising in a place that is not fit for their ideal audience. Do the work, study the data, make an informed decision and reap the rewards. Or, hire us. This is right in our wheelhouse. 😉