The marketing plan for any company includes the demographics of their target audience. Who they are trying to reach can be segmented out so as to allow for different marketing strategies for each segment. It makes more sense to advertise a product appealing to 18 to 24 year olds predominantly to 18 to 24 year olds. Social media networks are valuable marketing vehicles. The demographics of each social network should be reviewed to develop an effective marketing plan for each one.
It's probably no surprise to anyone that the social networking sites MySpace and Facebook are visited most of the time by people between the ages of 18 and 24. Their gender breakdown is almost the same: 63% female, 36% male. Is this demographic the market for your product or service? If so, it could be very beneficial to develop a profile and actively participate in these communities. If you are not trying to reach this demographic it is still worth your time to develop a presence on MySpace and Facebook. Absolutely! There are still millions of users or 31% over 24 who are using these networks.
Once you know which market segment each social media network appeals to you can focus your message and profile to that segment. For example, Linkedin.com readers have the highest household incomes and are good targets for high-end or premium products or services. Propellor.com and stumbleupon.com have the highest percentage of over 65 visitors if this is the market you are trying to reach.
You can find demographic information on these social media networks on quantcast.com. Enter the domain name and it provides a summary of the U.S. demographics and a traffic summary. It tells you what categories visitors to that domain are also likely to visit broken down into: Communities, Photo/Video Sharing and Movies. It also shows what other sites visitors to that domain are likely to visit.
Reviewing the demographic information freely available to you enables you to determine if that community is a good fit for your message and if it would be a good use of your time. It also helps you enter and participate in these communities with the knowledge you need to interact appropriately. MySpace and Facebook have the most traffic and should be used. From there you need to determine what other social communities are worth your time to participate in. Marketing opportunities differ in each community in terms of how you will get your message out, be it with groups, blogs or other internal applications.
Lynn Jebbia is a Senior Project Manager at ArteWorks SEO, a search engine marketing company. Her focus is SEO Strategy, Keyword Analysis, Competitive Analysis, Web Site Audits, Pay Per Click Management and Client Account Management.
