As social networks continue to grow their audiences, important usage trends are emerging that will help define successful marketing strategies. Businesses beginning to market using social networks should take note of two new studies on the demographics of social media use.
First, IT research firm Gartner predicts that 50 percent of enterprises will use Twitter or another micro-blogging service by 2012. A separate study indicates that only 8 percent of US teens age 12-17 use Twitter, but 3 out of 4 teens use other social networks.
These studies are important because they are beginning to develop a clearer understanding of where particular groups of people spend their time online. Understanding demographic patterns on social networks helps businesses refine their activity on social networks based on where their target customers interact.
For instance, the Pew study on teen social media use found that this group is not blogging nearly as much as it used to, but is instead posting frequent status updates on Facebook and spending a large amount of time there. Businesses that cater to teens—such as soda companies, sports franchises and apparel companies—should alter their strategy accordingly. The most important way for these businesses to reach their target customers will be setting up a highly interactive Facebook page that draws frequent, extended visits from the teens they are trying to sell to. Trying to reach these customers via Twitter likely will not produce a positive return.
But a business that sells to enterprises should take note of the increased use of Twitter by this customer segment, and begin crafting a strategy to reach their customers through the service. B2B companies should identify potential customers by doing Twitter searches, and then test the effectiveness of certain message types in generating conversations and relationships with them.
Older US internet users also read blogs more frequently than their younger counterparts, so blogging will continue to be an effective inbound marketing tool for this demographic. Businesses can learn what their customers want from the comments and interactions their posts receive.
