Online Marketing Strategies Geared Towards Older Folks
With a shift towards mobile devices and increase in professional social media users, online demographic data is different than you may expect.
Let’s Talk Stats: Facebook still reigns as global social network champion, but its demographic is shifting as younger users leave and older users fill the void. The teenage user population has declined 25% in the past three years (roughly 3 million users) while the 55 and up crowd’s presence has grown by 80%. While surveys reveal that women are 10% more likely to use Facebook than men, overall these details are overshadowed by the fact that roughly 90% of social media users are on Facebook. A perk of integrating Facebook into your social media marketing strategy is the opportunity for user interaction via comments with no character restriction.
Long Story Short: Utilize Facebook if your online marketing strategy:
- Targets a broad to global audience
- Is Interactive
- Targets Older Women
Let’s Talk Stats: That well-dressed middle-aged man typing on his smartphone likely isn’t texting–chances are he’s checking his LinkedIn app. Over half of college-educated internet users use LinkedIn and 56% of LinkedIn members are male. The dominant industry of users is Information and Technology and Services. Unlike Facebook, a mere 13% of LinkedIn users are millennials. With 130,000 long-form posts published each week, this is a rather text-heavy site.
Long Story Short: Use LinkedIn as a platform if your business:
- targets people of higher education around the globe
- involves compelling and lengthy posts
- is tech-related, or targets tech-related companies
Google+
Let’s Talk Stats: This business-oriented social network is often overshadowed by LinkedIn’s vast shadow, with only a fraction of its main competitor’s users. However, involvement on Google+ could have its benefits. Google+ “Communities” provide access to niche audiences, and the unique “Hangouts” feature facilitates more personal business-to-client relationships, as opposed to primarily B2B connections on LinkedIn. Hello, small business marketers! Also, it’s owned by Google, so any effective SEO content marketing has a shot at a higher ranking if posted here.
Long Story Short: Market on Google+ if your business:
- targets a niche audience
- targets mostly males
- involves interactive, demonstrational or discussional content
Let’s Talk Stats: As elaborate wedding pinboards and bite-sized dessert collages may suggest, reports reveal the site is predominantly occupied by women (a whopping 68%), and even more significantly, nearly half of all women online have Pinterest accounts, compared to only 13% of online men. Half of Pinterest’s users have children, and almost a third have an annual household income of over $100,000.
Long Story Short: Choose Pinterest if your online marketing strategy:
- targets wealthy mothers
- is clothing or food-based
- visually oriented
Online Marketing Strategies for the Youngsters
For the millennials, faster is better, so incorporating agile marketing into your social media strategy could work with the following platforms:
Let’s Talk Stats: So where are all the youngun’s migrating? Instagram, it would seem. This phone-based platform is largely responsible for the online demographic shift. Over half of internet users between the ages of 18 and 29 use Instagram, and almost half of these people use it daily. Dominated by artsy photos of exotic locales and visually-appealing foods, it is not surprising that over 80% of American teens in wealthy households are on Instagram.
Long Story Short: Start choosing a flattering filter if your business:
- can easily incorporate appealing visuals
- targets users younger than 35
- targets higher income users
Let’s Talk Stats: While Twitter boasts significantly less users than Facebook, ⅔ of its users are daily Tweeters. The largest percentage of Twitter users are between the ages of 18 and 24, and the majority of these users are male. However, like Google+, this apparent underdog has the upper hand when it comes to intimate, interest-based communities and discussions.
Long Story Short: Tweet away if your online marketing plan:
- bursting with timely updates
- targets younger men
- targets a niche audience
Carefully planning when, where and to whom you are posting is vital for an effective social media campaign.
The roar of an irrelevant audience can drown out even impeccable SEO optimization.