Social Media use has grown over time, and continues to grow, as shown by the chart above from the Pew Research Center. Utilizing social media to reach your target audience becomes both easier and harder at the same time, as the amount of information that we have on social media users grows. We are able to know so much about these users, from their daily habits and interest, income level,  job title and other interests.

Most people would be able to accurately guess that the biggest users of social media are younger people. However, what most people do not realize is how much people across all ages use social media on a regular basis. Frequently when I’m talking with my clients, they assume that none of the older generations are on social media on a regular basis and therefore we should target them through other channels. This, however is not true. 64% of those 50-64 use at least one type of social media. Take a look at the chart below on social media marketing usage by age to learn more about who is using social media in what age group.

As we have now learned how prevalent social media use actually is, the question most of you may have now is how do we actually reach them?

Are men actually on Pinterest? (15% of all men are on Pinterest.)

Does anybody read what Donald Trump is Tweeting? (Twitter is the least used social media platform of those considered in this research at only 21% people on it).

Is LinkedIn Really for Professionals? (The highest percentage of LinkedIn users have an income of $75,000 or higher)

Which one is the most used of them all? (68% of all people are on Facebook, and that number jumps to about 80% if you are only looking at Americans on the internet).

Using social media isn’t something that you should let fall by the wayside, and can be a very powerful tool if used correctly. However, using it correctly is a challenging and daunting task for an individual. If you have the time and the passion to learn more about it, I highly encourage you to consider going down that rabbit hole. Just beware, that social media algorithms are constantly changing and updating and they are never going to be easy.

Digital marketing involves a lot of constantly testing and retesting what you are doing. Just because Facebook has the biggest following by no means that it might be the best social media platform for you to focus on. If you are a fashion related business, than emphasizing the #ootd (outfit of the day) hashtag might be a great way for you to find followers and build awareness, that will in turn dive more traffic to you. If you have great video footage that you spent a long time making, then capitalize on what you already have and make sure that you are using what will benefit you most. Also consider cross using your posts; however, don’t do this too much if you have a limited audience as they will quickly grow tired of seeing the same thing multiple times if it gets too repetitive.

Have fun and go see what you can do, but never be afraid to ask for some help!