Who’s on Social Media? It may surprise you.
Social media can seem like another language – it’s a world full of #, @, RT, Selfies, Likes, Shares, and all those weird smiley faces (technically, called emoticons). For many industries, the majority of your customers are speaking to you online – are you listening? Why miss a connection with them just because you can’t seem to give up your flip phone?
Believe it or not, decades ago there were companies that also thought television was a fad – why would anyone sit in front of a box to be entertained? You had the radio for that.
Well today, people aren’t just sitting in front of boxes – they are mobile, savvy and on the go. With paper-thin laptops, tablets and smartphones. Heck, soon they’ll be able to check stock prices and the weather forecast on their watch.
How do you figure out where to position yourself? How do you figure out where your customers are?
We’ve summarized the Pew Research Center’s findings of the predominant audiences you’ll find on these social media channels:
- Facebook: Moms, Big Brands, Chatty Cathys, High School friends, 30+. Fastest growing demographic is 55+. Yes, Nana is on Facebook.
- Twitter: #Tech-geeks – all ages. #Newshounds – all ages. People that have left Facebook behind. Men 45+ are the fastest growing group (maybe it’s because of all the #ChattyCathys on Facebook).
- Pinterest: Women, Women, Women (get the picture…pun intended), 25++++. In the wedding industry or sell clothes, shoes, handbag, recipes or know how to get any kind of stain out of the carpet? You better be there.
- LinkedIn: Professionals, 30+. Great place to do recon work on potential hires and potential clients. Also great place to connect with your college girlfriend/boyfriend without the hassle of Facebook.
- Instagram: Millennials, Teen, Tweens.
- Vine, Tumbler, Snapchat: same as above.
- YouTube: same as above and all of the above. Even Grandfathers trying to figure out how to fix water heaters are logging on. As is anybody trying to install or DIY ANYTHING.
Get the point? Every social media outlet is a little different, yet they’re all the same somehow. It’s engaging the customer where they are. Gone are the days of building one website for you company and you’re done.
Make sure you have a strategy of how you’re going to reach your audience. Not sure where to start? Funny you ask, because we can help.
And, stay tuned for next month’s blog where we’ll help you figure out how to actually MEASURE the ROI of all this and decode the language of social media. Your CFO, and all the other acronyms, will love you for it.
