Your Mom (Is On Social Media) Posted on December 10, 2015July 6, 2016 by Jessica Lunk What You Need to Know About Social Media Demographics Millennials, Gen X, Baby Boomers… all these generations to consider when creating your buyer personas. And what are they doing online? We can safely say, pretty much everyone is on social media. And that’s just between Facebook and Twitter. You’ve also got your Snapchats, Tumblrs, Pinterests, Reddits, Instagrams… We are a social-hungry culture. We put together some quick facts on the generations and how they are engaging with social media so you can decide which platforms you should be on to reach your ideal customer. The Millennials Love Visual Media Born in the early 1980’s to the early 2000’s Now in their mid 20’s to early 30’s Getting established into their careers Still have decent credit ratings Otherwise known as Generation Y, this generation has grown up with touch screen technology, and are very hip to the tech world that changes very quickly around them. Facebook is very important to them so the audience you will get through pages on that site are valuable to explore with your marketing. The Millennials are also very good with visual media such as Snapchat, and Instagram. They are more likely to share photos of things they like, and themselves then write long word heavy posts on all their social media interactions. Videos are very popular with this group who is happy to watch endless YouTube vlogs, and are even hip to the new web streaming video site, Periscope. Generation X Is Savvy To All Media Born in the late 1960’s to 1980’s Now in their late 30’s to almost 40 years old Getting ready to send their children off to college Money is invested in their homes and raising children This demographic is the one that comes after the Baby Boomer generation. They are pretty technology proficient, but some remember what it was like when they were young without all the distractions of social media. They aren’t as easily blown away by guerrilla marketing techniques through social media and share less of what they see on those various sites. The Baby Boomers Born between 1946 through 1964 Now in their early 50’s to almost 70 years old Some have hit retirement age with most of their children out of the house Enjoying pensions and rip 401k’s from successful careers The good ol’ children of the Post-War baby boom. Many are invested in social media as a way to keep tabs on their grown children or much adored grandchildren. This group still is targeted mostly through traditional methods of advertising through television commercial, and even some print media; however, you don’t want to count out marketing on social media to this older generation. Far From Digitally Illiterate While you may have the impression that the older generation is disconnected from digital technology, the statistics tell a different story. They certainly aren’t as connected as Millenials, but they are far from digitally illiterate. Research shows that smartphones are now owned by 64% of Americans. Demographically, 27% of Americans 65 years of age or older now own smartphones. Of those 50-64 years old, over half (54%) own smartphones. Keep in mind, these aren’t just cellphones but smartphones. It is also worth knowing that number is growing. While mom or dad may need more help learning new technology, don’t misconstrue that to mean they are disconnected. Pew Research took a look at the most popular social media platforms and who was using them. There may be some older demographics your business is missing out on: Facebook now claims 48% of all internet users who are 65 and older. For those who are between 50 and 64 years old, 64% are Facebook users. Of all internet users between ages of 50 and 64 years old, 24% are Pinterest users. For those 65 and older, 16% are on Pinterest. Remember that Pinterest is dominated by women. Linked also has solid numbers for the older generation although they are reaching retirement age. Pew found that 26% of all internet users made use of LinkedIn, while 12% of those 65 and over used the platform. While the numbers of older users drops with social media platforms like Instagram and Twitter, they are not insignificant. Of internet users 50-64 years of age, 11% use Instagram and 13% use Twitter. It’s worth noting that even of those internet users who are 65 and older, 6% use Twitter and 4% use Instagram. Keep exploring these generations on social media in relation to your business and expertise. Tapping into these pockets of consumers will help you drive brand awareness, engagement, and ultimately more sales. Stand out among these groups by being in the right place with the right type of message on social media.