Your ability to develop and execute a successful social media marketing campaign will influence the success of your business. As you build your marketing strategy, you’ll have to decide which social media platforms will get your focus.
It’s important to understand the target demographics of each platform to make an informed decision. This guide is written to help with that. It lists the target demographics for each platform and details when and how marketers might want to use them.
What Are Social Media Demographics?
Social media demographics are a collection of characteristics that describe the people who use each social media platform. Each social media company collects information about its users in order to understand them better. Social media demographics include:
- Age
- Location
- Gender
- Device preference
- Education
- Employment
There are also behavioral demographics such as the average amount of time spent on a social media platform each day and the frequency of visits within a given period.
Why Are Social Media Demographics Important to Your Business?
When choosing a social media platform, demographics should be one of your primary considerations. You want to focus on the social media channels that target the same audiences you do. The best way to do this is to compare the demographics of your target personas on each platform.
If you don’t have an up-to-date understanding of social media demographics, you risk wasting time and resources marketing on the wrong platforms and targeting the wrong audiences.
Social Media Demographics by Platform
When you know the demographics of social media users for each platform, you’ll know where your target customer is and isn’t spending time. You can use that information to help determine your social media marketing strategy.
Instagram Demographics
Instagram experienced explosive growth over the past few years. That’s slowed down a bit, but the platform is still going strong. In fact, it’s forecasted to exceed 1.1B total users this year. Here are a few more stats:
- 500 million people visit Instagram each day
- Most Instagram users are males between the ages of 18 and 24
- Men ages 25 to 34 are the next largest demographics
- Women on Instagram are generally 18 to 34 years old
- Most Instagram posts are from users in the United States
- Instagram users are largely concentrated in the United States and India
- Users spend just over 11 hours each month scrolling through Instagram
- More than 90% of users follow at least one business account
Additionally, 83% of people use Instagram for brand and product discovery.
When to Use Instagram for Social Media Marketing
Instagram is a highly visual platform with an audience that skews young. It’s also used to follow brands and learn about new products. This focus makes it ideal for every stage of the sales funnel and perfect for influencer marketing.
Facebook Demographics
Despite the new social media platforms that have come onto the scene, Facebook remains the most popular platform overall. Here are some notable demographics:
- More men (56%) use Facebook than women
- The largest user group on Facebook is men aged 25 to 34
- India has the most Facebook users, with the US in second
- Users are dwindling in Germany, Switzerland, Japan, and S Korea
- The fastest growth is in S America, Egypt, and Nigeria
- More than 98% of users scroll on mobile devices
- Users spend just over a half-hour on the platform each day
There are more than 2 billion active Facebook users.
When to Use Facebook for Social Media Marketing
Facebook is still an excellent platform for connecting with customers, sharing content, and building brand awareness. Just keep in mind that the demographic tends to be Millennial and older.
LinkedIn Demographics
LinkedIn has experienced a slightly shrinking user base, and it’s never been associated with B2C marketing. Still, these numbers are worth considering:
- There are about 774 million users on the platform
- 43% of LinkedIn users are female
- Most (60%) are aged 25 to 34
- The majority of LinkedIn users are in the US
- The next largest user bases are in Brazil, China, and India
- LinkedIn is used in more than 200 countries
- 75% of users are from outside of the US
Additionally, more than half of all college-educated adults use LinkedIn.
When Should You Use LinkedIn for Social Media Marketing?
If you are in the B2C space, you can probably ignore this platform for marketing purposes. However, it’s still the most powerful social marketing space for B2B. Also, the Millennials on LinkedIn are a powerful consumer group, with many moving into decision-making positions.
Twitter Demographics
Twitter is a conversational social platform where users can share their insights and participate in conversations about topics that matter to them. Here are some demographics that marketers should pay attention to:
- Only 29% of Twitter users identify as female
- In America, most users are aged 18 to 29
- Most Twitter users are in the United States
- More than a third of people making more than $75K use Twitter
People spend 5.6 hours on Twitter monthly on average.
When Should You Use Twitter for Social Media Marketing?
When your goal is community building and engaging with your audience, Twitter is a wonderful choice. Additionally, it’s an excellent platform for thought leadership. Share your opinions, even controversial ones, on current topics and industry news.
TikTok Demographics
Even though TikTok is the fastest-growing platform, it has just recently been established as a place for social media marketing. Brands that are looking into TikTok for this purpose should consider these stats:
- TikTok users make a lower salary ($30K to $50K) because they tend to be younger
- 25% of users are under 20
- It’s the most popular platform for Gen Z after Facebook
- Globally 45% of TikTok users are aged 18 to 24
- 56% of TikTok users are female
Most TikTok users are in China, with the second-largest concentration in the US.
When Should You Use TikTok for Marketing?
If your target audience is Gen-Z and Generation Alpha, TikTok is a great platform to connect and create awareness. However, it’s imperative that you create engaging short-form videos.
Updating Your Social Media Marketing Strategy
Now that you know key social media demographics, you may need to update your marketing strategy. Keep these numbers in mind as you audit your approach and make changes to ensure you are targeting the right platforms.
