Understanding social media demographics—the different audiences that each platform has the potential to reach—allows you to:
How? Simple: The best social media marketers know where their audience is. That means choosing the right social platforms for their brands.
After all, how many men prowl the boards of Pinterest for power drill DIYs? What are the chances Snapchatters are thinking about retirement? Could LinkedIn members be lured by video game ads?
(Okay, maybe some.)
The best way to choose the right platform for your brand is by taking a look at the demographics. That’s why we want to break down the different demographics for all of the major social media sites out there.
Keep reading to find out more about the user demographics of every major social media network.
Table of contents
General social media demographics
Facebook Demographics
Instagram Demographics
Twitter Demographics
Snapchat Demographics
YouTube Demographics
Pinterest Demographics
LinkedIn Demographics
The most important social media demographics for marketers
General social media demographics
Social media is more popular than ever. Knowing the key stats is crucial for success.
Here are a few general demographic data points about social media that you should know:
Facebook demographics
Along with being one of the oldest social media platforms out there (in internet years, of course), Facebook is also one of the most popular. It has a daily and monthly active user base that far exceeds the population of any one country, and still continues to grow each year.
General
Age
Gender
Ethnicity
Geography
Income
Education
These demographics, plus other Facebook statistics and more detailed Facebook demographics, are integral to any smart Facebook marketing strategy.
Instagram demographics
Instagram has rapidly established itself as a must-have social media tool for marketers. Knowing these Instagram demographics will help make a difference in your Instagram marketing strategy.
General
Age
Gender
- Instagram is more popular with women than it is with men globally—though only slightly, with 52% female and 48% male users
- In the U.S., that gap is higher with 43% of women using the app compared to just 31% of men
Ethnicity
Geography
- More than 89% of Instagram’s community lives outside of the U.S.
- Most Instagram users live in urban areas, followed by suburban and rural areas
Income
Education
For additional consideration, read Useful Instagram Statistics for Social Media Marketers or take a deep dive into more Instagram demographics.
Twitter demographics
Twitter’s base may be smaller than Facebook’s, but its users are a mighty force—especially when it comes to mobilizing and community building. Here are the key Twitter demographic stats marketers should incorporate into their next Twitter strategy.
General
Age
Gender
Ethnicity
Geography
Snapchat demographics
Brands on Snapchat are unlikely to reach the oldest generations. But the ephemeral photo and video-sharing app is where a lot of the cool kids are hanging out. Take these demographics into account when crafting your Snapchat marketing strategy.
General
Age
Gender
Ethnicity
- 28% of Snapchat users identify as African American, followed by 31% Hispanic and 24% white
- When it comes to teenagers in the US, 77% of teens who use Snapchat are black, while 72% are white, followed by 64% who are Hispanic
Geography
- The top countries who use Snapchat are the United States, France, India, the UK, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Mexico, Germany, Canada, and Turkey
- The US leads the pack with more than 97 million users
- Most Snapchat users live in urban areas, followed by suburban and rural
Income
Find more Snapchat demographics here.
YouTube demographics
YouTube has grown into the single most popular social media site in America. That means knowing the platform’s trends and demographics will be crucial to your success as a marketer.
General
- YouTube has a global audience of more than 2 billion logged-in monthly users
Age
Gender
- YouTube is more popular with teenage boys: 85% of boys 13-17-years old watch YouTube daily, versus 70% of girls
Ethnicity
- 78% of Hispanic people in the U.S. use YouTube, followed by 76% of black internet users and 71% of white internet users
Geography
Income
Education
Round out your research with these YouTube Stats That Matter to Marketers.
Pinterest demographics
Pinterest has a good track record when it comes to conversions. One in two users have made a purchase after spotting a Promoted Pin. But with more than 60 million buyable pins from over 10,000 brands, marketers need to pin down Pinterest’s core demographics to succeed.
General
Age
Gender
Ethnicity
- Pinterest is more popular among white internet users than among African Americans and Hispanics
Geography
Income
Education
Here’s an even longer list of Pinterest stats that marketers need to know, as well as more Pinterest demographics.
LinkedIn demographics
LinkedIn may be the number one site for employers to connect with prospective employees and vice versa. But it’s also a unique platform for marketers to reach one of the most affluent and educated user bases on social media. Make sure you’re familiar with these demographics when crafting your LinkedIn marketing strategy.
General
Age
Gender
Ethnicity
- Fewer American Hispanics use LinkedIn when compared with Hispanic adoption of other social sites
- In the U.S., African Americans (28%) members are the largest ethnic group, followed by white internet users (26%)
Geography
Income
Education
- More than 46 million students and recent college graduates use LinkedIn. They are the networking site’s fastest-growing demographic.
- 50% of Americans with a college degree use LinkedIn, versus only 9% of members with a high school diploma or less
Researching the demographics you’re most likely to reach on social media platforms is essential, but it’s just the start. To take your marketing strategy to the next level, your next steps should involve conducting a social media audit, creating social media goals, and devising a content plan.
Now that you’ve got the demographic stats you need to plan your social media strategy, use Hootsuite to build and target an audience of loyal followers. Try it free today.
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