Each month we bring you e-commerce trends, analysis, and resources so you can pilot your business to success. Check out our August edition here to stay up to date.
This month we are analyzing the demographics of all the major social media platforms.
If you are like most e-commerce brands, you probably default to running most of your ads on Facebook or Instagram simply because this is where you spend most of your time on social media. However, it is important to realize that the platform you are running your ads on will have a different impact depending on who your target audience is. For example, your trendy fashion brand’s ads will be much less effective on Facebook than on TikTok.
Which Platform is Best for Your Ads?
The Pew Research Center put together this amazing infographic that tells you what social media platform people are most likely to use based off their age, gender, race, income level, and education level.
The first step to picking the best ad platform for your e-commerce business is to take a step back and visualize what your actual customer looks like. How old are they? How much money do they have? Where do they live? Answering these questions thoughtfully will give you the correct insight into where your future customers spend their time on social media.
Breaking Down Each Social Media Platform
Before we break down each ad platform, I want to share one more chart with you. This first chart shows which social media platforms have grown the most over the past two years. Generally, you want to go where the growth is. As the saying goes, a rising tide lifts all boats.
Facebook has grown from 2.5 billion users in 2019 to 3 billion users in 2022. However, in social media terms, this is relatively flat growth.
Key Stats
- Largest Age Group: 25-34 (31.5%)
- Gender Breakdown: 43% Female, 57% Male
Our Outlook
Despite increasing competition from emerging platforms, Facebook is still the largest social media platform in the world. It would not be smart to discount that. However, average usage has fallen from 38 minutes per day to 33 minutes per day in a time period when social media usage has been spiking.
In the past three years, Instagram has doubled its user base to 2 billion active monthly users.
Key Stats
- Largest Age Group: 25-34 (31.2%) and 18-24 (31%)
- Gender Breakdown: 48.4% Female, 51.6% Male
Our Outlook
TikTok has taken attention away from Instagram recently. However, Instagram still has a strong hold on Millenials and Gen Z. The Instagram Shopping feature shows that the platform will continue to be a great place to market and sell your products.
TikTok
TikTok has experienced monster growth from 55 million active users in 2018 to 1 billion active users today.
Key Stats
- Largest Age Group: 10-19 (25%)
- Gender Breakdown: 61% Female, 39% Male
- 40% of Gen Z says they are directly influenced by products they see on TikTok
Our Outlook
Due to its young user base, TikTok is not where you will sell high-ticket items. However, you cannot ignore TikTok’s popularity and growth. Users are spending an average of 90 minutes per day on the app and open it 19 times per day. This consistent usage suggests that users will be more likely to absorb your content and ads.
Twitter has grown from 100 million active users in 2017 to 211 million active users in 2022. However, this number is currently being debated, with many arguing that a significant portion of those users are not real people.
Key Stats
- Largest Age Group: 18-29 (42%)
- Gender Breakdown: 38.4% Female, 61.6% Male
- Average Usage: 31 minutes per day
Our Outlook
Twitter has a highly educated and high-earning user base, with a third of users having a college education and making more than $75K per year. With that said, as Twitter is mainly a place to discuss ideas and breaking news, advertising an e-commerce product can be difficult if it is not in the content/knowledge niches.
LinkedIn currently has 830 million active users. However, most users only use the platform once a week.
Key Stats
- Largest Age Group: 25-34 (58.4%)
- Gender Breakdown: 48% Female, 52% Male
- Daily Usage: 22% of users log on each day
Our Outlook
LinkedIn’s demographic mainly skews toward higher-earning professionals. This provides an incredible opportunity if you sell B2B products or software. Additionally, only 23% of LinkedIn’s users are located in the U.S. This provides a massive opportunity for international reach.
Pinterest has 431 million active users but has seen relatively flat growth over the past six quarters.
Key Stats
- Largest Age Group: 50-64 (38%)
- Gender Breakdown: 78% Female, 22% Male
- Average Usage: 14.2 minutes per day
Our Outlook
If you sell lotions and jewelry, you know where you need to be. Pinterest’s core user base is holding steady, and ad revenue for the platform continues to grow. Also, Pinterest is the most product-focused of all the social media platforms, and its users say that Pinterest is their favorite place to research products.
Snapchat
Snapchat grew to 319 million active users in 2022.
Key Stats
- Largest Age Group: 15-25 (48%)
- Gender Breakdown: 52.9% Female, 47.1% Male
- Daily Usage: 25 minutes per day
Our Outlook
Although Snapchat is no longer trendy, it is still one of the strongest platforms with the younger crowd. As a result, Snapchat is a great place to spot trends and gain insight into what the younger demographic finds interesting.
YouTube
YouTube grew to over 2 billion active users in 2022.
Key Stats
- Largest Age Group: 15-35
- Time Spent per Session: 29 Minutes, 62% of users log in daily
Our Outlook
YouTube’s continued popularity among younger users shows the importance of creating video content to market your products. In addition, the increase in YouTube’s ad revenue shows that the platform is still a profitable place to market products. However, most users still claim that they use YouTube for entertainment purposes rather than researching products.
Conclusion
Before you begin spending money to place ads on a social media platform, it is important to understand the demographics of the platform. Once you know where your target audience is, your can place ads on the platform that will give you the best return on investment.
At Windstone Financial, we have experience helping e-commerce brand owners grow the business of their dreams. If you need help reaching your business goals, click the button below to speak with a CPA today!
