Buyer Persona Matters on Social Media
Social media is still a hot marketing platform and doesn’t seem to be losing steam. Experts on all sides scream, “Facebook! Twitter! Pinterest! If you don’t use these, you will FAIL.” So, we all run out and start social media accounts with every platform out there and scramble daily to keep up with some form of posting schedule. We push ourselves to inspire interaction and then drive ourselves crazy trying to keep up with everyone who responds. We curate content, pin everything under the sun, tweet every moment of the day, and suffer over creating thoughtful Facebook posts.
What would you say if you did all this, only to find out you’re not using the right social networks after all? It’s okay; we’re on a 3-second delay. We’ll bleep it out.
Social Media: You’re Doing It Wrong
If you’ve been killing yourself on social media and still don’t see enough improvement to consider the trouble worth it, there’s a chance you’re concentrating on the wrong social networks. Take a look at the infographic below to see what we mean.
Pay Attention to Your Buyer Personas
As you can see, each of the social media platforms listed reach various ages in different ways. While Facebook is certainly the granddaddy of all social media, the largest percentage of users fall in the 35-54 year-old range. Still trying to reach young professionals with your messages? Your Facebook posts are only reaching 18% of that particular age bracket. Even worse, if you’re marketing to college students, only 8% of Facebook users fall in that category.
If you look at Google+, however, you’ll see 50% of their user base is in the late teens and early twenties. Young professionals likely fill out 28% of Google+ users. If these are your target markets, your posts may gain more traction with this particular platform. Those over the age of 35, however, are much less likely to spend time on this network.
Should You Abandon Social Media?
Of course not. You don’t even need to abandon the ones that don’t reach a large percentage of your buyer personas. Instead, consider a new strategy that focuses on the platforms your buyers do use, according to the infographic above. Consider moving some of your Facebook time to Google+ if you’re trying to reach people in their 20s and early 30s. Spend a bit more time on LinkedIn for professionals between the ages of 35 and 54. As for the broadest reach, Twitter and Pinterest seem to win that prize, so make sure you engage with these on a regular basis, too.
Above all, be ready to back up and try again if what you’re doing doesn’t work. Your buyer persona will let you know if you’re not reaching them because your leads and sales won’t continue to grow. Don’t be afraid to supplement your marketing efforts with other outlets, especially when reaching out to buyers who don’t necessarily fit the social media profiles. For instance, 20% of social network users are in their 50s, but 61% of seniors use email. An email marketing campaign definitely wouldn’t go amiss with this particular demographic.
What We’re Saying Is…
Don’t force it. If social media is working for you, keep doing what you’re doing. If not, quit shoving that square peg into a round hole. Figure out where your buyers are and go there. If that means new social networks, fantastic. If that means moving most of your marketing efforts outside of social media, that’s cool, too. The end result is the most important factor.
image credit: freedigitalphotos.net/jesadaphorn 