• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Social Media Examiner | Social Media Marketing

Your Guide to the Social Media Jungle

  • 🔥 Free Newsletter
  • ☀️ Web3 Conference
  • 🔎 Find Marketing Help
  • ⚙️ Tools
  • 🗓️ Events
  • 🎧 Shows
    • Social Media Marketing Podcast
    • Social Media Marketing Talk Show
    • Crypto Business Podcast
    • Our YouTube Channel
  • Content
    • Articles
      • Web3
      • How To
        • Instagram Marketing
        • Facebook Ads
        • Facebook Marketing
        • YouTube Marketing
        • YouTube Ads
        • LinkedIn Marketing
        • TikTok Marketing
        • Clubhouse
      • View Points
      • Expert Interviews
      • Tools
    • Video Tutorials
      • Instagram Marketing
      • Instagram Ads
      • Facebook Marketing
      • Facebook Ads
      • LinkedIn Ads
      • TikTok
      • Clubhouse
  • Sponsor
    • Podcast Sponsorship
    • Email Sponsorship
    • Event Sponsorship
  • About
    • Society
  • Search
  • Web3 Business ConferenceLearn how to put NFTs to work for your business.BIG SALE, SAVE NOW!

    Instagram Platform Ripe for Marketers Shows New Research

    by Patricia Maranga / January 21, 2014

    social media research

    Are you wondering how the social media landscape is changing for users?

    Wondering where you should focus your social media activities?

    Pew Research has released a brand-new study, which shows how American users have diversified their social media use.

    Here are four noteworthy ways social media use is changing for American users:

    #1: Facebook—Still Popular, but not Always “Platform of Choice”

    The Pew study indicates that overall, Facebook continues to be a favorite, but 42% of online adults use two or more social networks. Among those who use just one social platform, 8% use LinkedIn, 4% use Pinterest and 2% use Twitter or Instagram as their platform of choice.

    pew-social-media-platform-use-graph
    Facebook still popular, but the grass is getting greener on the other side.

    Key Takeaway

    Facebook remains popular because everyone’s friends and family hang out there, and because of its social graph. Other than that, users (and marketers) are constantly frustrated by the way Facebook changes the rules of engagement or the content layout.

    The result is that users start to feel like the “grass is greener on the other side” and are drawn to other sites, which quickly develop their own demographically unique user base (e.g., teenagers on Snapchat, women on Pinterest, business executives on LinkedIn, etc.).

    The challenge for Facebook marketers is to succeed on an increasingly turbulent channel, while trying to hold the attention of multiplatform users. Under these circumstances, your best bet is to diversify your content marketing strategy and engage with customers not just on Facebook, but also on every other channel where they hang out.

    #2: Instagram—Incredible Loyalty 

    The research also shows that Instagram has incredibly high user engagement rates, especially when compared with Facebook. More than half (57%) of Instagram users use the app on a daily basis (63% for Facebook) while 35% do so multiple times a day (40% for Facebook). That’s a shipload of loyalty for such a small site!

    social-media-platform-use-frequency-graph
    Instagram’s user engagement rates are comparable to Facebook’s.

    Key Takeaway

    Instagram is becoming a significant platform for brand marketers to leverage because its user engagement rates are so high. Users on Instagram are even interacting with brands that do not have an official Instagram presence. For example, Chanel does not have an official Instagram account, but it has more than 2.7 million images that have been branded with the #Chanel hashtag.

    Your Guide to the Future of Business

    Crypto Business Conference

    The Web3 renaissance opens up new opportunities for entrepreneurs, creators, and marketers who are ready to embrace the changes. But, who can you trust?

    Introducing the Crypto Business Conference; a premium event for anyone who wants to learn how to put Web3 to work for their business.

    Join us in sunny San Diego, California, for the first-ever crypto conference for business pioneers…not finance and tech nerds. You’ll get actionable, business-building ideas from proven innovators—without all the techie jargon.

    CLAIM YOUR SEAT

    As a marketer, you need pictures that will wow consumers, encourage a deeper relationship with your brand and build a strong, loyal community of fans and customers. Here are some Instagram marketing tips:

    Launch Social Projects Faster and Easier

    FindHelp Marketplace

    Looking for a content creator, campaign manager, or strategist for your social channels or a special project?

    Find the right expert for even the most complicated project or campaign in just a few clicks with our new FindHelp marketplace. You'll have more time to focus on other areas of your business without sacrificing your social presence. Browse highly qualified Facebook and Instagram experts today.

    FIND HELP TODAY
    • First, experience Instagram as a user, not just as a marketer—sign up for a personal account to experience what other users see when they engage with your brand.
    • Choose photos that bring out the “feel and lifestyle” of your brand.
    • Launch a campaign or photo contest to get your audience excited about sharing brand-relevant photos, which you can curate and display on your website or Facebook page.
    • Since you’ll be aggregating photos through hashtags, choose hashtags that are unique, simple and relevant to your brand. Avoid blending too many words into one hashtag (Instagram users love simplicity).
    • Add captions that lend humor, wit and context to your photos.
    • Link photos to your product pages to encourage consumers to go directly to your store and make a purchase.
    • Reward your followers for viewing and sharing your pictures with a discount or a promotional code.

    #3: LinkedIn—Dominance by High-income Executives Remains

    LinkedIn usage continued to be dominated by high-income earners ($75,000 annual salary) and college graduates. It’s also the only social networking site with the highest usage among 50- to 64-year-olds (think business executives and decision makers).

    pew-linkedin-user-demographics
    LinkedIn users are more affluent and more educated than the average online user.

    Key Takeaway

    LinkedIn is the place where businesspeople network, show off their expertise and secure new business.

    As a marketer, LinkedIn is incredibly relevant if you want your organization to be taken seriously by other business executives and highly trained employees. Here are some nifty tips to leverage LinkedIn for more business:

    • Start using LinkedIn’s sponsored updates. Sponsored updates are compelling because they appear directly in a user’s news feed rather than on the sidebar, making it more likely for your audience to notice and interact with them.
    • Sponsored updates also have the same options as regular updates, such as like, share and comment. Since your business connections will already be looking at what you have to offer, consider adding sponsored updates to your LinkedIn content strategy so your connections can like, share and comment, thus exposing your content to more eyeballs.
    • Consider using targeted updates on your company page (only page administrators can do this). Unlike regular updates where your message goes out to all of your followers, targeted updates go out to a targeted LinkedIn audience. You can tailor the audience based on specific criteria such as company size, industry, function, seniority and geography. If your company is looking to hire, you can also target non-employees with your content.

    #4: Women Spend More Time on Social Media—but not on Facebook

    Women are increasing the amount of time they spend on social media, especially on platforms other than Facebook, according to eMarketer. In the survey, 48% of women said they increased the amount of time spent on Pinterest and blogs, while 67% said the same about Instagram. Only 30% said they’re spending more time on Facebook.

    social-media-use-women-stats
    Women are spending more time on social channels other than Facebook.

    Key Takeaway

    For most women, social media is about family and friends. But they also want to be notified about coupons, promotions and shopping deals.

    In other words, women have a dual personal-commercial interest in social media. They tend to mix their personal and commercial interests into one feed; for instance, posting family photos, talking about their kids and asking for advice about a product. So the best way to interact with women is to humanize your brand and create a social presence they’re willing to connect with (especially on a platform like Pinterest, which is more trustworthy to women).

    It’s also a good idea to plan an integrated campaign because all of these social channels feed off of each other. If a potential customer sees your campaign on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram, she’ll remember it, therefore making it more effective. Just make sure your content is entertaining, shareworthy and not disruptive.

    What do you think? How have these insights prompted you to improve your social media marketing strategy? Please leave your questions and comments in the box below.

    Curious about NFTs, DAOs, and Web3?

    Crypto

    Follow the Crypto Business podcast to find out how NFTs, social tokens, DAOs (and so much more) will affect your business in the near future.

    Every Friday, host Michael Stelzner interviews leading industry experts about what works right now in Web3 and what to expect in the future, so you can prepare your business for the shift, even if you're a total newbie.

    FOLLOW THE SHOW

    Tags: Instagram, Social Media Research

    About the authorPatricia Maranga

    Patricia Maranga writes research reviews for Social Media Examiner. She is the Social Media Manager at US Pharmacopeia, a public standards setting organization. Follow her on Twitter at @predsicker.
    Other posts by Patricia Maranga Âť

    Get Social Media Examiner’s Future Articles in Your Inbox!

    Get our latest articles delivered to your email inbox and get the FREE Social Media Marketing Industry Report (39 pages, 50+ charts)!

    Industry Report Cover

    Worth Exploring:

    Facebook

    Marketing Help Explore More →

    Instagram

    Marketing Help Explore More →

    YouTube

    Marketing Help Explore More →

    Linkedin

    Marketing Help Explore More →

    Facebook Ads

    Marketing Help Explore More →

    Social Media Marketing Industry Report

    Get Free Report →

    Social Marketing Trends

    The data you've been missing!

    Need a new plan? Find out how thousands of marketers plan to change their social marketing activities in our 14th annual Social Media Marketing Industry Report. This 39-page report reveals what marketers have planned for their organic social activities, video marketing, social ads, and more. Get this free report now and never miss another great article from Social Media Examiner.

    Enter your email to get
    our free report:


    Footer

    Your Guide to the Social Media Jungle
    Copyright © 2022 Social Media ExaminerÂŽ
    All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use | Privacy Policy.

    Helpful Links

    • About us
    • Our content via email
    • Our podcasts
    • Our YouTube channel
    • Our live show
    • Our industry report
    • Sponsorship opportunities
    • Write for us…
    • RSS
    • Accessibility