How to Choose The Best Social Media Platform for Your Blog

Why you should have an understanding of social media demographics before investing

Firstly, It’s important to be tactical when choosing which social media will complement your blog. You don’t want to waste valuable time preaching to the wrong audience and then realizing your format of marketing doesn’t quite fit the platform you’re posting it on.

Many people out there don’t consider being strategic about where they post and tend to have the mindset of ‘post on all the platforms, and you’ll reach more people and generate more traffic’.

That’s not necessarily true, I mean, you might certainly get a lot of eyeballs on your post as they scroll past it but how many of those people are going to pause and read that content and how many are going to become converted readers? Not many. And this is because you’re not reaching your target audience, you’re just being broad and hoping to reach anyone and everyone.

Top tip before you start: Identify the purpose of each social media platform

Understanding the purpose of each social media platform is essential before going ahead and signing your business up. Not all social media is created equally. Sure it brings people together socially on one platform, but there are so many varying factors between them.

Each social media platform from Facebook to Pinterest holds different audience demographics (which we cover below), and it’s crucial to know where your audience lies before you waste time and money investing in the wrong platform.

Each social media platform advertises in different ways, offers different rates to pay, and reaches your audience differently. You need to be aware if your content is having the best impact on your audience as possible as you need to grab their attention quickly to stop them from scrolling past and not converting.

A good start to figuring out what social media platform might work best for you is to look at where your competitors are. Your competitors are in the same niche, have a similar audience demographic, and if they are already established, know what platform works best for them, and their content, so certainly take a look but don’t base your decisions on someone else’s.

The top 5 social media platforms

As we’ve mentioned, it’s important to understand the ins and outs of social media platforms and what they can offer your business.

We’re breaking down the top five social media platforms, perfect for bloggers of all different niches, and giving you the demographic insights so you can make valid and informed decisions going forward.

Facebook

Facebook boasts more than 2 billion active monthly users, so it offers a large population. It is also a good platform for keeping a close community with an already established dedicated audience, but because of its size, it may prove difficult to successfully target new readers. Facebook marketing options include video and live video, audio, and written content, along with imagery.

Facebook demographics (source: pew research center)

69% of U.S adults use or have used Facebook
75% of female adults use Facebook
63% of male adults use Facebook
76% of 18-24 year olds use Facebook
84% of 25-29 year olds use Facebook
79% of 30-49 year olds use Facebook
68% of 50-64 year olds use Facebook
69% of people who earn less than $30,000 use Facebook
72% of people who earn between $30,000 – $74,999 use Facebook
74% of people who earn over $75,000 use Facebook

If you are keen to learn more about Facebook and setting it up for business then look at our guide.

Twitter

Twitter offers over 330 million active monthly users and focuses on immediate, real-time content. For that reason, you will most likely be required to post multiple tweets to reach more of your audience. Tweets tend to be limited to 140 characters, and you can post images and videos along with using hashtags to categorize keywords, topics, and brands.

Twitter demographics (source: pew research center)

22% of U.S adults use or have used Twitter
21% of female adults use Twitter
24% of male adults use Twitter
44% of 18-24 year olds use Twitter
31% of 25-29 year olds use Twitter
26% of 30-49 year olds use Twitter
17% of 50-64 year olds use Twitter
20% of people who earn less than $30,000 use Twitter
20% of people who earn between $30,000 – $74,999 use Twitter
31% of people who earn over $75,000 use Twitter

Pinterest offers the smallest amount of users with 1.35 million. However, it’s widely recognized that Pinterest users generally convert from browsing to buying more than any other social media platform.

Pinterest is a particularly interesting platform as it also serves as a very convenient search engine allowing businesses to gather key research for content topics. It also has a focus on visual imagery and vision boards, and users can purchase directly via Pinterest using ‘buyable pins.’

Pinterest demographics (source: pew research center)

28% of U.S adults use or have used Pinterest
42% of female adults use Pinterest
15% of male adults use Pinterest
38% of 18-24 year olds use Pinterest
28% of 25-29 year olds use Pinterest
35% of 30-49 year olds use Pinterest
27% of 50-64 year olds use Pinterest
18% of people who earn less than $30,000 use Pinterest
27% of people who earn between $30,000 – $74,999 use Pinterest
41% of people who earn over $75,000 use Pinterest

Pinterest is a key player when it comes to generating traffic for your blog or business and can really boost your blog success. We highly recommend learning as much as you can about Pinterest and the best place to start is with our helpful guides:

Instagram

Instagram offers 800 million active users, with at least 50% of them following a brand.

This is a perfect platform suited to visual content such as photography, videos, and high impact imagery. It also offers shoppable posts and shoppable stories meaning users can shop straight from the app.

Instagram demographics (source: pew research center)

37% of U.S adults use or have used Instagram
43% of female adults use Instagram
31% of male adults use Instagram
75% of 18-24 year olds use Instagram
57% of 25-29 year olds use Instagram
47% of 30-49 year olds use Instagram
23% of 50-64 year olds use Instagram
35% of people who earn less than $30,000 use Instagram
39% of people who earn between $30,000 – $74,999 use Instagram
42% of people who earn over $75,000 use Instagram

If you are keen to learn more about Instagram and setting it up for business then look at our guide.

Youtube

With over 1 billion + users, Youtube is the second largest social media platform on our list. Perfect for sharing video content, Youtube offers access to 76 different languages for an outstanding global reach. Because of Youtube’s extensive advertising options, it is reported that one in two marketers incorporate Youtube into their promotional strategy.

Youtube demographics (source: pew research center)

73% of U.S adults use or have used Youtube
68% of female adults use Youtube
78% of male adults use Youtube
90% of 18-24 year olds use Youtube
93% of 25-29 year olds use Youtube
87% of 30-49 year olds use Youtube
70% of 50-64 year olds use Youtube
68% of people who earn less than $30,000 use Youtube
75% of people who earn between $30,000 – $74,999 use Youtube
83% of people who earn over $75,000 use Youtube

If you are keen to learn more about Youtube and setting it up for business then look at our guide.

So what do these stats mean for you? Well, depending on your content, your target audience, and whether you’re aiming to sell from your website or blog, these breakdowns and stats can give you a push in the right direction with what social media platform may work for you.

Conclusion

One thing to always remember is to be tactical and strategic with your business and social media platform as your time and money are precious. You should 100% focus on quality over quantity, and that includes choosing the right quality social media platform to suit your audience and business. If you have a high impact on a relevant platform with high-quality content, then a willing audience will follow.