Trying to understand where social media currently is and where it is going can be a tricky part of your overall social media marketing planning. Recent research done by the Pew Research Center shows some noticeable shifts in where social media might be headed in the near future. Pew has found that many standard behaviors remain but there are a few new avenues in which social media may be heading that will have a major impact on your long term social media strategies.
- YouTube and Facebook continue to remain the big guns of social media. While these two giants will remain stable, younger users in the 18-35 range continue to be active on a number of various social media platforms. About half of the 18-24 age group are active with Twitter with nearly 80% of them embracing such platforms as Instagram and Snapchat.
- About 75% of the adult population is on Facebook and this number is pretty standard for YouTube use also. But, the 18-24 year olds are highly active at YouTube with nearly 95% of them using it on a daily basis.
- Aside from Facebook and YouTube, the other major sites such as Pinterest, LinkedIn, SnapChat and Instagram, are only drawing 40% or less of the population on a regular basis. Despite these numbers, marketers are recognizing that the demographics at these sites are highly prized and sought after.
- All in all, 88% of the 18-24 age group are active at many platforms with the 30-49 group coming in at 78%. The numbers drop somewhat with the older populations but the 50-64 group is strong at 65% with the over 65’s still coming in at a respectable 37% of them being active on social media.
-Written by Kevin Sawyer
