"The Social Media Hash" is a weekly blog covering changes and updates to the ever changing social media landscape. You can join us live every Friday at 4:00 pm/pt on the LKE Social Media Facebook page for "The Social Media Hash Live with Roc & Red," where we hash it out!
Whether you’ve been in business for years or are just starting out, you know the role social media plays in your growth. You also know the time and energy it takes to maintain an active and engaged presence.
The first thing I’m usually asked is “which platform is the best” or “which platform should I use for my business.” If you’re new to the social media party, you should pick one at a time, become proficient at it and then add another.
There’s this wonderfully clever donut analogy (first created by Douglas Wray), which attempts to explain how each social media platform works.
Let’s look at the differences between four of the top platforms,
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
FACEBOOK – 2.23 BILLION MAUs (monthly active users) That’s almost a third of the world’s population!
There are more than 65 million businesses using Facebook Pages and more than six million advertisers actively promoting their business on Facebook
According to Social Media Today, 39% of FB users say they follow business pages to receive special offers. Most others say they are on Facebook to connect with friends and family.
83% of Facebook users worldwide are under the age of 45.
Keep in mind the Facebook algorithm prioritizes content that sparks conversations and interactions between people, especially those from family and friends.
Unlike Twitter, which is current news, Facebook’s content is “evergreen,” meaning the photos and videos are usually something we may want to go back to later or even save to watch more than once.
Social Influence Through Social Media @LKESocialMedia
FACEBOOK STATS VIA OMNICORE
Facebook users are 53% female and 47% male.
62% of online Seniors aged 65+ are on Facebook and 72% are between age 50-64.
88% of online users of age 18-29 are on Facebook, 84% of those 30-49.
82% of college graduates are on Facebook.
YOUTUBE – 1.9 BILLION MAUs
YouTube is a video-sharing platform where users watch a billion hour of videos every day. YouTube is owned by Google and is also often known as the second largest search engine after Google.
YOUTUBE STATS VIA OMNICORE
62% of YouTube users are Males.
9% of small businesses are on YouTube.
35+ and 55+ age groups are the fastest growing YouTube demographics.
75% of adults turn to YouTube for nostalgia rather than tutorials or current events.
• Millennials prefer YouTube two to one over traditional television. • 37% of the coveted 18 – 34 demographic are binge-watching.
INSTAGRAM – 1 BILLION MAUs
Instagram is a photo and video sharing social media app. It allows you to share photos, videos, Stories, and live videos and recently launched IGTVfor longer-form videos.
You want to keep in mind that IG is primarily a visual platform and that users can view your post either one at a time or in a tiled format so you want to make sure that your photos reflect your brand colors and over all message you want to convey. IG also relies heavily on hashtags.
• • • • •
INSTGRAM STATS VIA OMNICORE
68% of Instagram users are Females. Six in ten online adults have Instagram accounts. 59% of internet users between the ages of 18 and 29 use Instagram
33% of internet users between the ages of 30 and 49 use Instagram 72% of Teens use Instagram.
Twitter – 335 million MAUs
Twitter is a social media site for news, entertainment, sports, politics, and more. What makes Twitter different from most other social media sites is that it has a strong emphasis on real-time information — things that are happening right now.
Twitter is only allows 280 characters in a tweet, so the challenge is to get creative with your wording.
Social Influence Through Social Media @LKESocialMedia
TWITTER STATS VIA OMNICORE
There are 261 million International Twitter users which account for 79% of Twitter accounts are based outside the United States.
There are over 69 million Twitter users in the US.
Roughly 46% of Twitter users are on the platform daily.
37% of Twitter users are between the ages of 18 and 29, 25% users are 30-49 years old.
56% of Twitter users $50,000 and more in a year.
36% of Americans aged 18 to 29 years old use Twitter.
80% of Twitter users accessing the platform on a mobile device, and 93% of video views are on mobile
Regardless of the size of the social media sites, it’s most important to consider whether your target audience is active on those platforms.
Social Influence Through Social Media @LKESocialMedia
You can follow me at Instagram, FB and Twitter @LKESocialMedia Don’t forget to subscribe my podcast THE SOCIAL INFLUENCE And join me LIVE on Fridays at 4 pm PT on my FB page @LKESocialMedia where we’ll continue conversation and I’ll answer your questions and
comments live.
WHICH SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS ARE RIGHT FOR YOUR BRAND
A wide age range: 83% worldwide are under 45 - 62% are seniors. - 88%
are between 18-29
Facebook users following brands are looking for discounts
Facebook’s algorithm prioritizes posts that spark conversations; the more
shares, likes and comments, the wider an audience reach
Facebook content does best when it’s “evergreen”
What is your audience demographic: age, gender, income etc?
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What is your service, product or service?
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What type of discount can you offer?
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What can you post that may spark conversations related to your product or service?
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Social Influence Through Social Media @LKESocialMedia
YOUTUBE
62% of YouTube users are male
35+ and 55+ age groups are the fastest growing YouTube demographics.
75% of adults turn to YouTube for nostalgia rather than tutorials or
current events.
Millennials prefer YouTube two to one over traditional television.
What is your audience demographic: age, gender, income etc?
_________________________________________________
What is your service, product or service and is there a “how to” or “about us” kind of video you can create?
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If you have an opening, or an event, do you have the equipment to go live or record it to post at a later date?
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Who is the “face” of your brand?
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Social Influence Through Social Media @LKESocialMedia
• Instagram is a VISUAL platform • 72% of Teens use Instagram • Instagram relies heavily on hashtags
What is your audience demographic: age, gender, income etc?
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What are your brands colors? How can you incorporate them into your photos and/or videos?
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Create a branded Hashtag to use in all of your posts.
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Research popular hashtags in your industry. Which ones can you use that make sense for your brand?
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Social Influence Through Social Media @LKESocialMedia
Twitter is a site for news, entertainment, sports, politics, and more.
You can only post 280 characters (that does not include a photo or video)
37% of Twitter users are between the ages of 18 and 29, 25% users are
30-49 years old.
Twitter emphasis content that is news worthy, or happening right now.
What is your audience demographic: age, gender, income etc?
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Are there tips, ideas, conversations surrounding your brand, service or product that are news worthy or topical?
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Create a post in less than 280 characters, describing your brand & how you’re relevant? Try not to use all 280 characters. This gives your followers room to retweet your content with their own message.
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Do you have a blog, podcast, etc. you can tweet to your followers?
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