What platform is your target audience spending their time on? We’re going to tell you why this is important to know so you aren’t wasting your money by putting ads on the wrong social media platforms.
It takes less than a second for a consumer to scroll past an ad on social media. But it takes a social media practitioner hours of planning and strategy to create that ad. With the risk of wasting so much hard work, how can we be sure those ads will attract your audience?
To know how to attract your audience, It is important to first understand who your audience is. Their age plays a huge factor in determining what platform(s) they spend most of their time on.
As social media practitioners, it is crucial we understand our audience. Keeping up with trends can help you know how exactly to market your products or services to consumers. Altering your marketing strategy according to general shifts in social media trends is helpful, but what if there was a more proactive and specific approach to target your audience? What if tracking factors such as age, gender, education, and interests could help you know which apps you should be heavily promoting our business on?
For now we’re going to deep dive into why a consumers’ age is important and the correlation it has to the platform they spend most of their time on as well as their interests and what kind of content they want to be seeing.
We did some research looking for a connection between the age of consumers and the app they are spending most of their time scrolling on. The following research breaks down the result of our theory about where consumers are spending their time based on platform.
- Tik Tok
The research done shows what social media apps are most popular among different age groups and should give you, as a social media practitioner, business, or influencer, where the best place is to promote your ads.
Primary Age of Instagram Users
According to sprout social, there are 2 billion monthly active users on Instagram. While this is beneficial to businesses, influencers, and other social media marketers, being on Instagram is not enough to get your account seen, to reach more people, or to gain a loyal following. This is where knowing your target audience comes into play and you can start with the age demographic.
If you are a business selling an anti-aging cream and your target audience is women ages 55+, chances are they aren’t going to be on Instagram.
Instagram is most popular among people ages 18-29, in fact 71% of people on Instagram are in this age group with the next age group being 30-49 at 48%. (backlinko.com)
Primary Age of Facebook Users
Facebook, which sits at 3 billion active monthly users, tends to be most popular among people ages 25-44 as well as people 65+.The platform is the most popular among people ages 25-34 which is 24% of users. (statista.com)
If you are targeting individuals within this age group (25-44), you are better off putting your ads on Facebook vs the other two platforms we talk about (Instagram and Tik Tok).
No social media users between the ages of 18 and 20 that were surveyed spent most of their time on Facebook. Instead the social media platform they used the most was TikTok. If your target audience is between 18 and 20 years old, your ad will most likely perform better on TikTok than it would on Facebook.
Similarly, most social media users between the ages of 21 and 25 spend a great deal of time on Facebook. Ads targeted towards them would do better on Facebook than ads targeted towards younger adults would.
Primary Age of Tik Tok Users
Tik Tok falling just behind Facebook and Instagram has 1 billion monthly active users, where the majority of them are between the ages of 18-24 which is 18% of people on the platform. (Tik Tok user statistics)
Tik Tok is a platform that has content that tends to be targeted towards a younger audience. If you are a brand that is selling on trend products to keep up with the constantly changing market, Tik Tok is where you need to be promoting your ads.
Why are Users on Social Media?
If you want to target a specific audience, it is important to understand why users are on that specific social media platform. There are many factors that contribute to using social media apps, and some apps are more effective at achieving certain goals than others are. If you, as a creator, are able to understand why your target audience is on a specific social media platform, you can create better content that will grab their attention.
Social media users generally do not seem to be trying to build their own presence online. According to the data collected, only about 10% of users on Instagram are trying to build their online presence and create influential content, and Facebook users aren’t interested in building an online presence at all. This means a majority of social media users are being influenced, rather than being an influencer themselves.
Interests and Social Media
Social media users are on certain platforms based on their interests. As a social media creator, it is important to understand where your target audience is most prevalent. Since older generations frequent Facebook more than younger people do, they are looking for different, more timeless content. About 50% of Facebook users are interested in content made for families, as well as food content. If you want to make family-friendly content, or content revolving around cooking, try putting yourself out on Facebook.
Of Instagram users, 44% are interested in content about popular entertainment, such as movies, T.V shows, and books. 33% of Instagram users are interested in fashion and makeup content. Fashion and Entertainment is more popular among a younger crowd. Those who wish to be a fashion or entertainment influencer should post a majority of their content on Instagram.
TikTok users, however, have more varied interests than both Facebook and Instagram. According to the survey, 33% of TikTok users have interests in fitness and athletics. The second-most popular interests are tied between food, music, and animal content at 25% each.
Although there is slight content overlap between these interests, TikTok as an app tends to be more inclusive to different groups. Different communities are more prevalent on TikTok due to the widespread use of the app, making it a sort of “gathering place” for those of differing interests. If you want to reach a large group of people, or aren’t sure what your target demographic’s interests are, TikTok is the platform you should work on the most.
Why Consider these Factors?
Considering factors like age and interests can help you choose the most appropriate platform to deliver your ad(s) on. Knowing the age of your audience and what they are looking for on social media can help you know what platform they spend most of their time on and will help you be able to better tailor your ad campaign to make sure it reaches the intended audience in an effective manner.
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