Social media for business is not an option. It’s a necessity. Almost 80% of Australians are on social media, and 39% follow brands or businesses there. Facebook remains the most popular social media platform, though people spend more time on YouTube. Picking a place to start for your business can be a challenge.
Unfortunately, I can’t wave a magic wand and give you the perfect platform to reach all your ideal clients, but I can share some demographic basics.
Business to business
Before we consider business-to-client marketing and engagement, let me cover business-to-business. Hands down, if you are seeking business partners or clients of any age, spend your energy on LinkedIn. LinkedIn is the place to network, show your industry thought leadership, and meet potential business clients.
When using LinkedIn, remember that you represent your business. You are not a business. If you meet someone, connect with them as a person on LinkedIn. When you read something interesting there, comment on it because engagement goes two ways. When you post, do it from your personal page, even if it means sharing from your business page, because people buy from people.
Millennial and Gen Z – born with social media
If your customer avatar is under 34, you will likely find them on several social media platforms.. According to one report, 38% of Gen Z (18-24 year olds) spend more than 4 hours daily on social media. Another suggests that over 67% of Gen Z’s are directly influenced by products they see on TikTok. TikTok’s own website claims 1 out of every 2 Gen Z TikTok usersare likely to buy something while using TikTok. So if Gen Z are your target market, you should definitely consider TikTok.
Gen Z expect high-quality interactions, and millennials (25-34) expect high levels of customer service on all social media platforms. These younger generations are also more likely to try new social platforms, deliberately trialling them until they determine whether or not the niche meets their needs. If you don’t share the younger generation’s desire to jump onto every new platform, Threads, X (Previously Twitter) and Instagram are over 50% under 34 years old too.
INTERESTING FACT: Approximately 68% of Threads users are male – a more significant gender gap than most social media platforms and worth a focus if your customer avatar is a young male.
Gen X – prolific on established platforms with real purchase power
Gen X expects to be excited and educated by social media brands. Try how-to videos, tutorials, innovative solutions and case studies.
Some reports say over 80% of Gen X (41-56) are on Facebook regularly, so it’s a great place to start. But you can also find them on Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube and LinkedIn, to name a few. Where you market to Gen X might depend on your preferred content creation style and product or service offering.
Baby Boomer – least engaged, needs a different approach
Only 40% of Baby Boomers view social media as essential. Numbers did increase through lockdowns and have kept climbing, though they are still reluctant to use it for direct purchasing.
YouTube is one of the few social media platforms that can boast high use in the older demographics. 58% of people 56 and older use YouTube. No other platform I have found can boast that level of older demographic engagement, though Facebook comes closest.
For those that are on other social media platforms, they may be using it for different reasons than other generations. Often this generation will follow your business page for physical store locations like sales, new stock, restricted trading hours or the like.
Whilst not strictly social media, ensure you have a Google My Business profile to catch Gen X and baby boomers. For many, the reviews on Google serve a similar role to social media when seeking social proof.
Social media for any target audience
Whatever social media platform you choose to focus on, pay attention to your results, increased sales (or not) and be prepared to shift your focus to better meet your audience. Sometimes, we don’t even realise who our audience is, let alone where to find them until we start to engage on socials.
Where do you think you will find your customer avatar? Which platforms have you already enjoyed success with? Still confused? Book a call today to discuss where we might find your perfect customer.
