The Value of Knowing Your Social Media Audience
In our capacity as consultants and advisors, it is 5Q’s responsibility to identify the best methods with which to engage current and potential future investors for the sake of company growth.
When commencing a social media campaign for any company, we must always start by deciding which platforms will be the most effective in reaching their target audience. Although online platforms such as TikTok, Snapchat, Reddit, Pinterest, and many others, are attracting huge attention and maintain a large user base, they are not always the optimal choice for engaging with an investor audience. In our experience, some of the most effective platforms for this purpose include:
Platforms
LinkedIn: If you’re a B2B brand, you’re likely going to find success with LinkedIn. This platform appeals primarily to adult, working professionals and brands looking to connect with other professionals and grow their network. This user base is very equally represented in terms of gender, race, and age with the average participant identifying as anywhere between the ages of 18 and 60. The majority of users have also received some form of post-secondary education, are recorded as making upwards of 70K annually, and are active in their careers and fields1. Given that only 25% of LinkedIn’s users are located in the US, the platform has a significant international reach and is particularly useful for companies looking to attract a more widespread audience2.
Facebook: Facebook is among the most widely used social media platforms in the world with more than 2 billion users and its audience being the most broadly representative of the population as a whole3. It is primarily a social networking tool across all demographics with business promotion seeing the greatest success through the use of Facebook ads. In spite of their continued status as the largest social platform among consumers and marketers, Facebook’s user growth and activity is actually trending downwards in recent years as younger audiences move on to trending platforms2.
Twitter: If your goal as a business is to gather news, share content and drive discussion, Twitter will be a good choice for you. Predominantly male, though also appealing to a large female audience, this user base is skewing younger in recent years with the average participant identifying as anywhere between the ages of 18 and 29. A known location for political, international, and in-depth discussion, one-third of Twitter users are documented as having received a post-secondary education and make more than $75K annually, highlighting the platform’s highly-educated and high-earning base2.
Instagram: Representing one of the youngest social network audiences currently in vogue, Instagram’s user base is primarily representative of individuals under the age of 253. That makes it the perfect social network for brands or companies that target young, socially-active demographics. Its use is also limited (for the most part) to the sharing of images and short videos so it is ideal for brands with a great deal of visual content as opposed to those looking to share more news and discussion. Not necessarily the best tool for attracting new investors, but Instagram’s approach to the modern social intercourse is useful in maintaining investor and follower engagement
Once you decide which platform is the best choice to represent your company and reach your target audience, the next step is to find ways to track your progress. Tracking the success of your social media campaign is germane to the ongoing success of your marketing and outreach efforts. News and trends are in a constant state of flux, meaning that it is important to always stay on top of recent developments and observe your followers’ habits. Thankfully, there exist many tools to help you measure your success in this respect and as platforms evolve, they continue to incorporate key analytics tools that are easy to use, understand, and share within your company. By selecting the correct platforms with which to market your brand and engage your audience, social media can become a key tool for your success.
1 https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/social-media/
2 https://sproutsocial.com/insights/new-social-media-demographics/#facebook-demographics
3 https://www.webfx.com/social-media/learn/which-social-media-platforms-are-right-for-your-business/
