Different social media platforms have different types of content and different audiences. If what you sell has a highly visual component, you need to factor that in. If you want to write longer posts with more detail, you can’t really use something like Snapchat and there’s no need to be on every single channel. Selecting what works for your client, team and staff will help you cultivate credibility relationships, create trust and convert when it comes to selling your products and services.
A valuable recommendation in producing social networking content is to think about demographics — and determine which platforms can help serve the target audiences.
How to identify your target audience
In this article, I’ve broken down (and only included) the five best social media platforms for marketing, including their main audiences and top industries for the channel:
BEST FOR: B2C, in some cases B2B
TOP INDUSTRIES: Fashion, Auto, E-commerce, Retail, Entertainment, Real Estate, Marketing, Sports, Health and Wellness, News and Information
TARGET AGE AND GENDER: Anywhere from 25 – 55+, both men and women
There were over 2.27 billion monthly active Facebook users at the end of 2018, 1.5 billion of whom log on to Facebook every day and are considered active users on a regular basis. The most popular demographic age is 25 to 34 years of age, with 29.7% of all users.
You’ll need a profile on Facebook. It doesn’t matter if that is one of the key platforms on which you plan to sell, you need one.
The reason is, Facebook is considered a local SEO signal, which means that when hurling out local search results, search engines look at the Facebook profile of your company as an indicator.
2020 Facebook statistics You Should Know:
Facebook users are 53% female and 47% male
An average Facebook user has 155 friends
77% of college graduates are on Facebook
77% of adults in the US making over $75,000 a year are on Facebook
81% of 18 – 29 year-olds are on Facebook
78% of 30 – 49 year-olds are on Facebook
65% of 50 – 64 year-olds are on Facebook
56% of online Seniors aged 65+ are on Facebook
BEST FOR: B2C, some B2B
TOP INDUSTRIES: News and Information, Retail, E-commerce, Health and Wellness, Travel and Hospitality, Telecom, Finance, Fashion, Retail, Sports
TARGET AGE AND GENDER: 18 – 29, both men and women
Before it received a Hail Mary pass from the 2016 election, Twitter was on its way out the door.. It has now re-emerged as a source of trends, data, and political rants, all in 280 or less characters. Is that another positive thing? It now provides Support to customers. Whenever customers have a problem with a product or service, they tweet the business. It’s highly recommended making this a platform of choice if your company has the right audience and a significant customer service aspect.
Twitter is becoming a crucial customer discovery center, so it’s an excellent place to demonstrate your experience, goods, and innovation.
BEST FOR: B2C
TOP 10 INDUSTRIES: Travel and Hospitality, Fashion, Health and Wellness, Arts and Crafts, Food and Beverage, E-commerce, Beauty, Photography, Auto, Event Planning
TARGET AGE AND GENDER: 18 – 35, mostly women, but that’s shifting
Is Instagram the best social media platform for your business? If you’ve got a visual product, the answer is yes.
Instagram is a photo-friendly app,where photos can be posted and shared by users. While it may not sound like much, with Demographics, in particular, this social media site packs a punch. If your company wishes to catch this audience and can produce photos with a high impact, you can make this platform a priority by all means.
Instagram is owned by Facebook, so they have a lot of the same features and ad targeting choices, making it an excellent brand recognition and engagement choice. Be aware, though; Instagrammers expect a story to be told in high-quality imagery. It is not going to work to post stock images. Try a different site if you do not have a visual product or access to professional images.
BEST FOR: B2C
TOP INDUSTRIES: Retail, Health and Wellness, Travel and Hospitality, Fashion, E-commerce, Arts and Crafts, Food and Beverage, Beauty, Home and Garden, Event Planning
TARGET AGE AND GENDER: 18 – 45, mostly women
Pinterest is the paradise of the hobbyist. If they’re on Pinterest, ask any woman who’s planning a wedding or remodeling a home, and I guarantee they’ll show you a pin-board dedicated to that case. Most people have a Pinterest account where they keep clippings of vacations they want to go on, things they would like to purchase one day, and new exercise routines, even though they’re not planning anything.
This is the platform for you if your audience is on Pinterest and you have a visual product or provide services that have to do with visual planning, such as home remodels, landscaping, event planning, etc.
2020 Pinterest statistics You Should Know
34% of 18 – 29-year-olds use Pinterest
34% of 30 – 49-year-olds use Pinterest
26% of 50 – 64-year-olds use Pinterest
25% of Pinterest users use the site daily, and 31% use the site weekly
87% of pinners have purchased a product because of Pinterest
BEST FOR: B2B, B2C employment
TOP INDUSTRIES: Financial, Employment, Science and Technology, Legal, Manufacturing, Marketing, Education, Professional Services, Health and Wellness, IT
TARGET AGE AND GENDER: 23 – 45, both men and women
If you are B2B, LinkedIn is the key social media platform that your company should be on. This is because, four out of five members of LinkedIn are guiding business decisions, and the audience of LinkedIn has 2x the average web audience’s purchasing power.
