Where does my audience spend their time online?
Over the last few weeks, we have brought up questions to ask yourself to determine who your customer is, what their interests are, how to determine their buying habits, etc. We hope that you found the blog insightful and a part of the groundwork of determining where to spend your time online.
But that’s the true question, isn’t it? Where DO you spend your time online? This blog is here to answer that question and possibly more. Let’s break it down – but we will only concentrate on the most popular platforms. For those of you who love data, you can check out the full report here.
Based on a study conducted by Pew Research, Facebook users break down in the following age groups and usage percentages. As far as gender is concerned, is pretty split in the middle, swinging more to the female user side. With such a wide audience, it is safe to say that your audience could be found on Facebook. Remember, it’s also important to know how these demographics “digest” information, and what kind of content is “thumb stopping” (aka, what makes people stop scrolling.)
- 51% of 13-17 year olds use Facebook
- 81% of 18-29 year olds use Facebook
- 78% of 30-49 year olds use Facebook
- 65% of 50-64 year olds use Facebook
- 41% of 65+ year olds use Facebook
Instagram is a visual platform. It is a photo centric, story-telling platform. Instagram leans towards a much younger audience than that of Facebook, appealing to teens and young adults
- 72% of 13-17 year olds use Instagram
- 64% of 18-29 year olds use Instagram
- 40% of 30-49 year olds use Instagram
- 21% of 50-64 year olds use Instagram
- 10% of 65+ year olds use Instagram
What some people don’t realize, is that Instagram falls under the family of products offered by Facebook. What does this mean for businesses? Ease of use for advertising. Advertisements created on Facebook can also be marketed on Instagram using the same budget.
I’m personally not an active Twitter user. I know, shame on me – I blame it on my age, mostly. For someone voted most talkative twice in my life, you would think that’s where I would spend my time. But alas, I hop on twitter to catch up on news, politics and special events. Twitter is Most popular with people in their 20s, the breakdown of Twitter user demographics shows that the platform is preferred by those in younger age ranges.
- 32% of 13-17 year olds use Twitter
- 40% of 18-29 year olds use Twitter
- 27% of 30-49 year olds use Twitter
- 19% of 50-64 year olds use Twitter
- 8% of 65+ year olds use Twitter
Snapchat
Snapchat came along as a disappearing messaging app and has quickly turned into a common way for teens and young adults to chat with each other on their smartphones. But don’t let those age demographics sway you. In an article published today by FastCompany, boomers are using Snapchat at an increasing rate. Expect to see 12%+ growth from those over 35 years of age.
- 69% of 13-17 year olds use Snapchat
- 68% of 18-29 year olds use Snapchat
- 26% of 30-49 year olds use Snapchat
- 10% of 50-64 year olds use Snapchat
- 3% of 65+ year olds use Snapchat
I’ve recently spent time diving deeper into LinkedIn. I used to compare it to your “online resume” which is still semi-accurate. I now stand by the fact that it’s the perfect opportunity to let your personal brand shine while sharing your professional qualifications and successes. It can be used as a lead generator, a recruitment tool, and a great networking tool.
- 29% of 18-29 year olds use LinkedIn
- 33% of 30-49 year olds use LinkedIn
- 24% of 50-64 year olds use LinkedIn
- 9% of 65+ year olds use LinkedIn
What’s the moral of the story?
Your audience is online. As a society, we are more connected than ever with smart appliances, smart devices and smart homes. It’s super important to answer the questions from our blog “How Do I Reach My Customer”, so you can figure out your age demographics and determine how they consume information/where they spend their time online. Then you can customize your marketing plan to reach those individuals with great success.
Still unsure of where to start, or where to focus your marketing energy? Feel free to contact us for a consultation.
