Social Media
Which platform and why ?
‘ These days ’ everyone needs to think about a social media profile . It ’ s a cheap and effective way of reaching a wide audience , but it does require careful thought . Before developing a social media strategy , it is first important to consider what that approach aims to do , just as you would with any other strategy . Consider which social media platform ( s ) best suits your target demographic , as different platforms are used by different groups , as well as in differing ways :
For example :
• Snapchat and Instagram are growing in popularity for young people aged 18-24 ¹. Messages targeted at that age group would therefore be well-suited to those social networks .
• Facebook users check their accounts more frequently than do Twitter users , so more urgent or time sensitive messages are more likely to be seen by Facebook users in a shorter amount of time ².
• Those aged 25-34 are more likely to use Facebook than any other age category , meaning that those messages are more likely to be received and interacted with by this age group than others , although this particular platform still dominates
all others in terms of number of users and therefore continues to be a useful ‘ place ’ to be ³.
• The majority of Twitter users are aged between 25 and 34 . Use by those under 24 is expected to decline further as they increase their use of other platforms such as Instagram 4 .
• Half of those who have a Twitter account never use it 5 . This is one of the reasons why we cannot reliably gauge the ‘ success ’ of a campaign or activity by using the number of followers of an account - old followers may no onger use their social media account - so we would be wrong in thinking that we had connected with them .
• Other relevant issues are gender , geographical location and social status , as these factors also impact on use of different social media platforms . For example , slightly more females use Facebook than males 2 and those using Linked In are more likely to have higher incomes .
Following analysis of your data ( see pages 9-14 for more ), you should be able to develop an understanding of the social network best suited to you and you aims . And remember , usage changes , so your target group may move from one social media platform to another .
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¹ Smith , A . and Anderson , M . ( 2018 ) ‘ Social Media Use in 2018 ’ Pew Research Centre Information Technology Available from http :// www . pewinternet . org / 2018 / 03 / 01 / social-media-use-in-2018 / ² Carter , R . ( nd .) ‘ Facebook vs Twitter : Which is Best for Your Brand ?’ Available from https :// sproutsocial . com / insights / facebook-vs-twitter / ³ Statista ( 2018 ) ‘ Total number of Facebook users in the United Kingdom ( UK ) in January 2018 , by age group and gender ( in millions )’ Available from https :// www . statista . com / statistics / 507417 / number-of-facebook-users-in-the-united-kingdom-uk-by-age-and-gender /
4
Statistical ( 2018 ) ‘ Distribution of Twitter users in the UK from 2012 to 2018 ’ Available from : https :// www . statista . com / statistics / 271351 / twitter-users-in-theunited-kingdom-uk-by-age /
5
WeAreFlint ( 2018 ) ‘ New Report Showcases Evolving Social Media Habits and Trends in the UK and US ’ Available from https :// weareflint . co . uk / press- release-social-media-demographics-2018