Is Social Media Worth my Time

One of the ironic things about social media is that while it is well understood, the amount of anecdotal data out there is shocking. You will hear things like; Facebook has over a billion daily active users (DAU) or that Snapchat is catching on like wildfire. While these data points are in fact true, they are irrelevant to anyone wanting to use the platforms to build their business.

In fact, these data points are more important to the owners of these social media networks than to businesses marketing on them. The data that is important is that which points out real actionable opportunities you can take to grow your business in a meaningful and sustainable way. In this article, we look at three data points you should be looking at before picking a social media network.

Demographics

Different social networks appeal to different demographics. Understanding which demographics fit your potential clients is what will provide direction in which social network to pick. Let’s run through some numbers:

• Facebook: 214 million users in the United States aged between 35 and 54.

• Instagram: 125 million users reside in the US, 90% of whom are below the age of 35.

• LinkedIn: 53% of the platforms 250 million users are in the US and are aged 30 to 49.

• Pinterest: 75 million users in the United States and have a median age of 40.

• Snapchat: 33 million users in the US of whom three quarters are below the age of 34.

• Twitter: 67 million users in the US of whom the largest group is between 18 and 29 years.

Looking through these numbers, you immediately see which demographics are more likely to buy or sell a home and which aren’t. In this case, we see that Facebook and LinkedIn comprise the most likely places you will find potential clients.

User Earnings

One thing that is clear from the onset is that anyone buying or selling a home has to fit a certain income profile. Digging into the data, here is what we find:

• Facebook: 75% earn over $75,000 a year.

• Instagram: 25% earn less than $30,000 a year while another 25% earn more than $75,000 a year.

• LinkedIn: Almost 50% of all US users earn more than $75,000 a year.

• Pinterest: Half of US users earn more than $50,000 a year, with the top ten percentile earning more than $125,000 a year.

• Snapchat: Most users are students, so the income levels for the user base is low.

• Twitter: 19% earn up to $49,000 a year, 25% earn up to $75,000 a year and 26% earn $75,000+ a year.

Again, these numbers paint a clear picture of which demographic fits best as potential home buyers/ sellers. In this case, we still find that Facebook and LinkedIn offer the best income brackets to target.

Customer Acquisition Cost

The final data point to look out for is the customer acquisition cost (CAC). In this case, we are looking at both monetary value and time value. For instance, posting regularly to each of these social networks requires different levels of effort. Twitter is the easiest and Snapchat is the hardest. When we compare the returns on these efforts, we see Snapchat as having the lowest return (owing to the demographic and difficulty of creating useful content) while Facebook has the highest relative return (easier content creation and better demographic).