New Study Details Who Is Using Social Media and When
These demographic statistics on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and other sites can help you kick up your marketing a notch or two this year.
By Nina Zipkin •
When building a company, an entrepreneur knows one of the first questions he or she is going to be asked is "Who is your customer?" Social media can help get the word out, but how do you know where your audience is going to be?
Well, the Pew Research Center may be able to shed some light. Under its Internet and American Life Project, the Washington, D.C.,-based nonprofit released a report that took stock of the year in social media and the findings show that we're all, unsurprisingly, connecting with each other online in a big way, with 73 percent of "online adults" using social media.
While Facebook continues to dominate the space with 71 percent of adults using it, 42 percent of this audience is using multiple networks. Pew's data comes from phone interviews with 1,801 internet users, age 18 and older, conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International in August and September.
But with the increase in social-media network choices - everything from Twitter to Pinterest and Instagram - and diversification occurring, determining where to invest your time and resources can be tricky.
Fortunately, Pew provides a demographic breakdown of exactly who is using these social networking sites and how often.
Below is a quick recap. If you want the more in-depth finding, head on over to Pew.
Related: Why It Might Be Time to Ditch Your Facebook Strategy
- Sixty-three percent of Facebook users visit the site at least once a day and 40 percent visit multiple times during the day.
- Forty-five percent of online adults 65 and older use Facebook, up from 35 percent in 2012.
- The largest age group is between the ages of 19 and 29 (84 percent), followed by the 30-to-49-year-old group
- Sixty-nine percent of adults with an income more than $75,000 utilize the network, a percentage much higher than its counterparts (LinkedIn came in second place with 38 percent)
- Facebook has the highest percentage of people that have completed college at 68 percent.
- Forty-six percent of users visit daily and twenty nine percent check their feed multiple times throughout the day
- The amount of Twitter users held somewhat steady, with 18 percent of online adults on the site, up from 16 percent in 2012.
- Twitter is slightly more popular among women (18 percent) than men (17 percent), and use is highest among people between the ages of 18 and 29.
Related: Get Started Building Your Brand on Twitter
- Thirteen percent of users visit daily and about half say they use LinkedIn less than once a week
- Men (24 percent) use the site more than women (19 percent), and is used the most among online adults with an income of $75,000/year or more
- It is the only social network where usage among 50-to-64-year-olds was higher than those between the ages of 18 and 29.
- LinkedIn came in second place for college completion (behind Facebook) at 38 percent
- Twenty-three percent of Pinterest users visit sites daily and around half say they use the site less than once a week.
- About 21 percent of internet users are on Pinterest, up from the 15 percent in 2012.
- The site skews more toward female users (33 percent) rather than male users (8 percent) and users also tend to be on the "affluent side."
Related: The 10 Most Overused Buzzwords on LinkedIn (Infographic)
- About 57 percent of Instagrammers visit the site more than once a day, with 35 percent using it multiple times during the day.
- Seventeen percent of online adults are on Instagram, compared to 13 percent in 2012. Pew also noted that Facebook bought Instagram last spring, which could account for the jump.
- Instagram is used by 20 percent of women, 15 percent of men and is most popular among people between 18 and 29.
- Adoption rate for the African-American community has increased from 23 percent to 34 percent.
