Editor's note: Pete Denman is clients services assistant manager at marketing research company Observation Baltimore. This is an edited version of an article that originally appeared under on the Observation Baltimore blog as "Social Media: What’s New?".
Social media platforms are constantly evolving, and so are the consumers who use them. Where one platform may have been particularly relevant one year, another can take its place among different demographics in a blink of an eye. The following article lays out how several social media platforms have changed and how they can be best utilized to meet your business goals.
LinkedIn has the unique benefit of hosting a very specific user demographic: More than one out of every three U.S. adults ages 30-49 use LinkedIn (37%), with over half of users possessing college degrees. Their 722 million users can utilize the platform to stay current with their respective industries, apply for jobs, follow specific businesses and connect with professionals.
To best use the LinkedIn platform:
- Post on weekdays only. Social engagement is not typically users’ primary reason for their account and most users are on LinkedIn during working hours.
- Posts on Mondays and Fridays are less effective so be sure to post on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
- LinkedIn deprioritizes accounts that use too much automation, so be sure to use automation tools sparingly.
As of July 2021, Facebook’s demographics are 56% male and 44% female. Males and females ages 25-34 are the largest segments, and those 18-24 years of age are the second largest segments.
Facebook’s algorithm has changed drastically over the years. To increase the views on your posts, follow these suggestions.
- Any business that sells products online can create a Facebook Shopping page, which allows users to purchase products without leaving the site.
- High-interest content, or content that gets users to reply, like or share, gets the greatest visibility.
- Unlike many other platforms, longform posts perform well. These posts typically have a lower cost per action and can be used to inform your audience.
- Hashtags, once reserved for sites like Twitter, have made their way to Facebook. Using hashtags can guide users with aligning interests to your page.
- Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. are typically the best times to post. Be sure to check your own insights as every demographic has different usage!
Compared to other social media platforms, Twitter has made fewer radical changes over the years. Twitter is primarily used by males, who comprise 68.1% of users. Similar to Facebook, Twitter’s largest user age group is 25-34 (38.5%). The second largest age group are those aged 35-49 (20.7%). Twitter is a great social media platform for both B2B and B2C companies alike.
To get the most out of your Twitter presence be sure to:
- Limit hashtags. Less is more when on Twitter. To make your purpose concise, limit your hashtag usage to 1-2 relevant hashtags.
- Keep content short and sweet. Twitter now allows you to use 280 characters (versus 140) but that doesn’t mean you should use all of them – the best performing content is concise.
- Curate replies and retweets by responding to mentions. More interaction with your tweets will boost your Twitter page’s viability.
- Use images, gifs or videos to make your tweets stand out!
- Stay up to speed. Twitter, as most know, is a fast-paced social site.
Instagram is the second largest social media website behind Facebook, boasting 1 billion monthly active users, with 500 million being active “daily” users. Unlike other social media sites, Instagram’s user base is primarily female at 57.9%. Instagram’s largest age demographic is ages 25-34 (32.1%) and 18-24 (29.9%), respectively. Recently, Instagram introduced Reels to compete with TikTok as the leading site for short video content. However, Reels have been losing that competition among the teen demographic. Thirty-six percent (36%) of Instagram users follow at least one brand account (the highest brand followers among all sites). It should be noted: 46% of B2B marketers use organic Instagram posts to boost their business.
Keep the following in mind to engage Instagram users:
- Post during the week. Instagram sees the most usage during the middle of the week and around 11:00 a.m. CT.
- With 500 million daily users, it’s easy to have your content get lost in a sea of media. Be sure to keep your account active by posting frequently.
- The more user engagement, the more attention your post will get. Be sure to encourage action such as saves, likes, comments and shares.
- Unlike Twitter, Instagram encourages the use of a lot of hashtags.
- Because Instagram is owned by Facebook, you may cross-post between the two platforms.
TikTok
The newest platform on this list, TikTok, has skyrocketed in users since its introduction, becoming the seventh largest social media app and second largest social media site in consumer spending. TikTok has 1 billion monthly active users worldwide with 130 million of those users residing in the U.S. TikTok has been the go-to app for teens and young adults. Twenty-five percent (25%) of their users are less than 20 years old and 48% of all U.S. residents under the age of 29 report they use the TikTok app.
This new, young app can be tricky for content, so be sure to:
- Prioritize vertical video. While this seems intuitive given that TikTok is designed for mobile use, not all videos are recorded vertically. Those that are see a 25% higher watch-through rate.
- TikTok’s users report that they open the app for funny/entertaining content.
- The first three seconds of your video are the most critical. Sixty-three percent (63%) of ads on TikTok with the highest click-through rate put their message upfront.
- Appealing to emotion is a powerful way to engage audiences (in any form of communication!).
- TikTok’s creator marketplace gives brands an easy way to search for content creators your brand may align with.
Most importantly for all communications, including social media platforms, content should be valuable to the reader.