Nearly every business owner knows they should be promoting their business on social media. Social media marketing is an effective way to reach customers on their own terms with unmatched ROI. Successful social media campaigns can create brand awareness, reward consumers for their loyalty, lead to referrals/WOM, and can create positive affinity toward your brand- which is priceless in this customer-centric business environment.
Your customers are on social media… are you?
Popular marketing technology blog, Marketing TechBlog, has reported that social networking is the number one online activity among Americans. The site revealed Americans averaged 37 minutes a day on social media sites. No wonder 46% of online shoppers are influenced by social media when making a purchase. *(Karr, 2014) Successful social media campaigns are so influential because they are a form of marketing that is voluntary and initiated by the consumer.
This means those who interact with your brand via social media self-vet for interest and because of this are much more likely to trust the content they are consuming. If the content uses an effective call to action social media can be your own personal lead generating machine when it directs consumers back to your company’s website.
Social media as a marketing tool should be implemented more like a sniper rifle than a shotgun. Not every social media platform is right for every business. While diversification of your efforts on multiple sites may increase exposure for small businesses, a business should remember having a presence on each social media site requires the resources to maintain each account. Trying to hit every target possible can waste valuable resources and often leads to under maintained or completely ignored social media accounts which can wreak havoc on your brand’s reputation. You should aim to reach the groups who match your target market’s demographics and psychographics, or in some cases, those who have an influence on the ultimate consumer.
Here are some statistics about the users on several of the most popular social media sites.
The Pew Research Center estimates that among the entire population of US adults (18 +)
• 58 % use Facebook
• 23% use LinkedIn
• 22% use Pinterest
• 21% use Instagram
• 19% use Twitter
*(Duggan, Ellison, Lampe, Lenhart, & Madden, 2015)
The Pew Research Center’s study also provides some key demographics of several popular social media platform’s user bases.
71% of online adults surveyed use Facebook
% of users in each age group:
18 – 29 years old = 87%
30 – 49 years old = 73%
50 – 64 years old = 63%
65 or older = 56%
% of users in each ethnicity classification:
Black, Non-Hispanic = 67%
White, Non-Hispanic = 71%
Hispanic = 73%
28% of online adults surveyed use LinkedIn
18 – 29 years old = 23%
30 – 49 years old = 31%
50 – 64 years old = 30%
65 or older = 21%
% of users in each ethnicity classification:
Black, Non-Hispanic = 28%
White, Non-Hispanic = 29%
Hispanic = 18%
Pintrest
28% of online adults surveyed use Pinterest
% of users in each age group:
18 – 29 years old = 34%
30 – 49 years old = 28%
50 – 64 years old = 27%
65 or older = 17%
% of users in each ethnicity classification:
Black, Non-Hispanic = 12%
White, Non-Hispanic = 32%
Hispanic = 21%
28% of online adults surveyed use Instagram
% of users in each age group:
18 – 29 years old = 53%
30 – 49 years old = 25%
50 – 64 years old = 11%
65 or older = 6%
% of users in each ethnicity classification:
Black, Non-Hispanic = 38%
White, Non-Hispanic = 21%
Hispanic = 34%
23% of online adults surveyed use Twitter
18 – 29 years old = 37%
30 – 49 years old = 25%
50 – 64 years old = 12%
65 or older = 10%
% of users in each ethnicity classification:
Black, Non-Hispanic = 27%
White, Non-Hispanic = 21%
Hispanic = 25%
* (Duggan, Ellison, Lampe, Lenhart, & Madden, 2015)
If you want to start using social media to market your small business, you must remember it requires continual monitoring and mindful implantation to be effective. Investing the time and resources into creating a targeted campaign with a strong call to action is vital to reaping the benefits of this invaluable marketing tool.
References
Duggan, M., Ellison, N. B., Lampe, C., Lenhart, A., & Madden, M. (2015, January 9). Social Media Site Usage 2014 | Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project. Retrieved from Pew Reaearch Center | Nonpartisian, non-advcacy public opinion polling and demographic research: http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/01/09/social-media-update-2014
Karr, D. (2014, October 1). 2014 Statistics and Trends for Business on Social Media | Marketing Technology Blog. Retrieved from Marketing TechBlog: https://www.marketingtechblog.com/2014-statistics-trends-businesses-social-mediadd
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