Social Media

Social Hour: Here’s How Old Your Social Media Followers Are

by Margaret McNamara Posted On November 16th, 2017 | 6:30pm EST

There’s a joke that often circulates through social media and goes something like this: you use Snapchat to check in on your little sister, Twitter to find out what the rest of the world is complaining about, Facebook to check in with your mom and relatives, and Instagram to like your friends’ posts.

The gist is, there’s a different demographic attached to each platform — and we’re here to show you how you can use that to your advantage.

Snapchat
Sixty percent of Snapchat’s users are under the age of 25, and 25 percent of its users are still in high school. Basically, your Snapchat audience is young. In fact, only two percent of the platform’s users are over the age of 55. Unlike its photo-streaming counterpart, Instagram, Snapchat is less about providing high-quality images and more about showcasing personality. This audience is after authenticity. Snapchat users are interested in an unfiltered, yet entertaining take on what’s happening right now — and the ephemeral social channel is a great way to mass distribute that kind of information.

Facebook
Facebook is the non-negotiable platform since just about every demographic is fixated on the site. That being said, your Facebook content needs to speak to a wide audience and should feature a variety of images, videos, GIFs and articles that will be of interest to your followers. Unless your brand has a very specific target audience, avoid using slang or references that may be partial to a certain age group on this platform.

Twitter
The Twitter-sphere is where many users get their news and gauge public opinion in one or two sentences. According to the Pew Research Center, the largest percentage of Twitter’s users are predictably between the ages of 18-29. However, Twitter still houses a significant 54 million users between the ages of 30-49 and an impressive 30 million between 50-64. Therefore, some of those Facebook rules apply here too. Speak to a wide audience, but unlike Facebook, keep it short and simple. For some users, Twitter is the definition of information overload, so reaching 240 characters is not the challenge; it’s saying more with less. Lastly, use images because tweets with images receive 18 percent more clicks than those without images.

Instagram
It might feel like Instagram users are after one of two extremes: something shiny and new, or old and vintage. While this is not entirely true, most of the platform’s users are looking for high quality, thought-provoking, emotional imagery. With over 600 million users – most of whom are 18-29 – marketing on this platform is a priority. Instagram is the jack-of-all-trades of the social world; you can post stories, images and promote your events and products to easily engage your users. It’s also an influencer hub, making the site a content marketer’s gold mine.

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