How Are You Getting Your #BrandMessaging Heard?

A cornerstone of any communications role is being aware of your audience. A marketing campaign can easily go to waste if the messaging does not resonate with your audience or, worse, if the message never even reaches them. The saturated media landscape and fast-paced online trends in addition to the shift towards social media marketing, make it very overwhelming to figure out which channels should be used to reach target audiences.

Understanding the demographics of major social media platforms is vital knowledge for any communications professional. We are going to break down three of the biggest social media platforms being used today and examine what audiences are using them.

Tiktok – One of the most popular and fastest-growing apps out there, Tiktok is taking over. Noted for its popularity with Gen Z, it is no surprise that more than half of its American users are under the age of 30. A whopping 32.5% of these people are between the ages of 10-19.

TikTok is home to many different niche communities. If you are looking for a specific audience from subcultures like #witchtok to #egirls/eboys to #fittok to #momsoftiktok, this app could be a valuable tool in reaching a specific group.

TikTok also has characteristics that make marketing on the platform a valuable asset. A Forbes article from February 2022 reported on how the minute-or-less format of advertising Tiktok has is very beneficial because it cuts right to the point with the audience. Ads also appear more like another video in the user’s feed instead of explicit advertisements. Forbes also reported that advertising on the app is untapped compared to other social media. This is a valuable opportunity for companies who want to strike before there is competition on the platform.

Instagram – The second most downloaded app in the world next to TikTok. The United States has the most Instagram users in the world, the majority of these users ages 18-29. People under the age of 18 also make up a significant audience on the site.

Instagram is one of the most significant social media platforms for marketing and advertising. They offer in-app tools to buy and sell products, valuable methods to advertise products, and most notably, how to track your account’s metrics.

According to Hootsuite, 90 percent of users follow at least one business on the platform, one in two people use it to discover new brands, and almost half of people use the site to shop weekly. It is also worth noting that Instagram’s advertising reach has surpassed Facebook’s in 2021 by growing 20.5% compared to Facebook’s 6.5% growth.

Facebook – Rebranded under the new name Meta, what was formerly known as Facebook, is the most used social media site globally. It is also the most popular social media site among rural Americans and low-income households. Did you know that 73% of all Facebook users check the platform daily?

According to a Pew Research study, aside from YouTube, Facebook is the most used social media site by older Americans, with 69% of adults in the U.S. reporting they use the platform. In turn, teen usage is on a sharp decline, with a 20% decrease in teen usage from 2014/2015 to 2018.

There are some interesting political statistics regarding Facebook. Both sides of the political spectrum use this social media, unlike almost all other platforms, which tend to see more partisan use. A Pew Research study found that around a third of Americans get their news from Facebook; however, six in ten U.S. adults said they don’t trust the news that comes from this platform.

Some important global demographics are that the most activity overall on the site is in the Asia-Pacific region. Despite this, India is their largest advertising audience and the most users in the world at 310 million, followed by America, Indonesia, and Brazil.