Is Your Business on the Right Social Media Site? This Research Shows What You Should Know

You might be surprised to learn that social media sites have been around for forty years! That’s right!

Usenet launched in 1979. It enabled users to post to newsgroups.

No kitty videos, no selfies, no pics of the grandkids, of course.

​Which is why social media probably didn’t really hit the big time until around 2006 when Facebook hit the Internet.  

​Revolutionary Change

It’s pretty mind blowing to think about how much social media has impacted our lives in just under two decades.

While all of it hasn’t been good, some of the effects have been quite positive.

The technology has enabled us to forge new connections and rediscover old ones.

It’s expanded our social outreach, helped us organize events, built businesses, and enabled us to advertise our brands.

As you develop a social media strategy, it’s important to remember that the term “social media” is an umbrella for myriad sites that are quite distinct from one another.

And if your business isn’t on the right social media site—in other words, the one your target market frequents—you’re probably wasting a lot of time pitching to the wrong crowd.

How can you know?

Begin by defining your target market. Make it as detailed as possible.

To determine the best social media site for your business, consider the following user research* on some of the most popular social media sites.

Facebook
Generation--79% Millennial, 79% Gen X, 68% Boomers
Gender--75% women, 63% men
Education level-- 75% some college, 74% college grad
Location--73% urban, 69% suburban
Daily use--74% of FB users use the site daily

Instagram
Generation--67% Millennial, 47% Gen X, 23% Boomers
Gender--43% women, 31% men
Education level--37% some college, 43% college grad
Location--46% urban, 35% suburban
Daily use--63% of IG users use the site daily

Twitter
Generation--38% Millennial, 26% Gen X, 17% Boomers
Gender--21% women, 66% men
Education level--24% some college, 32% college grad
Location--26% urban, 22% suburban
Daily use--42% of Twitter users use the site daily

LinkedIn
Generation--28% Millennial, 37% Gen X, 24% Boomers
Gender--24% women, 29% men
Education level--26% some college, 51% college grad
Location--33% urban, 30% suburban
Daily use--22% of LinkedIn users use the site daily

Snapchat
Generation--62% Millennial, 25% Gen X, 9% Boomers
Gender--61% women, 38% men
Education level--29% some college, 20% college grad
Location--29% urban, 20% suburban
Daily use--61% of Snapchat users use the site daily

YouTube
Generation--91% Millennial, 87% Gen X, 70% Boomers
Gender--68% women, 78% men
Education level--79% some college, 80% college grad
Location--77% urban, 74% suburban
Daily use--51% of YouTube users use the site daily
* https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/04/10/share-of-u-s-adults-using-social-media-including-facebook-is-mostly-unchanged-since-2018/

These stats provide you with a great starting point for building your company’s social media strategy. Feel free to print them off and use them in your planning.

Want to send your social media strategy into the stratosphere? I can help!

#socialmedia #socialmediastrategy #facebook #instagram #twitter