Social media platforms are a dynamic field in which the type of content, interacting users and trends are constantly changing. This has an impact on the public's perception of the platform, but also on the general social media demographics. Only if you know where your target group actually hangs out will your marketing measures achieve their goal.
What the platforms are hiding about their traffic
The figures that Facebook publishes every year about its active users are impressive. According to the company itself, around 2.45 billion active users per month accessed the platform in 2020. With a global population of 7.8 billion people, that would be one in three (statista.com). However, this figure is not enough to decide in marketing whether your target group is also present in the social media demographics of the platform, because it conceals the fact that there is by no means just one account per private person.
Social media has changed and social networks have long been the first port of call for marketing experts to plan campaigns for companies and strengthen their own presence. Of the 23 million people who access Facebook every day in Germany, 2 or 3 million are likely to be entrepreneurs and companies who manage their advertising or want to address customers directly.
They often have private secondary accounts or manage several accounts for their customers who only broadcast but do not consume content. In total, around 38 million Germans use social media, i.e. one in two. The question of who prefers which network is answered by the so-called Social Media Demographics data, but not how.
How people use social media platforms in 2020
On Facebook, people spend most of their time interacting with friends and family, while Twitter is a public platform that is characterized by the fact that a tweet can be viewed worldwide. Twitter recently introduced a moderation feature, giving users the long-awaited option of limiting or switching off replies, so-called replies, for tweets. However, the basic principle is that of a public chat in which anyone can read anything as long as the account is not locked.
On Twitter, people find out about current events and discuss news developments, but also very personal experiences. The platform allows photos, videos and live streams, but unlike Facebook, it does not have the function of creating albums and sharing them individually. At Pinterest, users upload images and ideas to albums and can share them.
Instagram is also a type of image collection, but here influencers showcase their products, vacations are documented privately and shared with the whole world and large groups of viewers can be attracted and engaged with via hashtags and ig-TV.
TikTok is a relatively young app. It is currently causing trouble in the USA, where the decision has been made to deny the Chinese provider access to US user data. Young people under 25 love this platform because it allows them to combine videos with music and consume new content every second through the endless stream of clips.
The absolute success platform in Germany, however, is YouTube. Recording, streaming, sharing and watching videos, then commenting on them and discussing the content is what makes the service so successful. The new Premium Features, which allow fans to support their favorite channels, are also well received.
What percentage of Germans use the platforms?
The platforms are used by this proportion of the total German population (Globalwebindex Q2/Q3 2018, 16-64 years):
- YouTube: 76 percent
- Facebook: 63 percent
- Instagram: 33 percent
- Pinterest: 21 percent
- Twitter: 19 percent
Demographics: All age groups represented on different platforms
The actual demographics of social networks is essential when deciding which platforms to use for your campaign. A campaign that includes all services is not only particularly cost-intensive, but often also inefficient as it is far too broadly distributed.
Facebook publishes its user data on a quarterly basis. In January 2019, the gender distribution on Facebook was practically exactly the same. The age groups, on the other hand, showed clear differences. Only 6 percent of users in Germany were 13 to 17-year-olds, while the 18 to 24 age group accounted for 19 percent of users. At 30 percent, the 25 to 34 age group was particularly well represented, after which the figures fell again (blog.hootsuite.com).
19 percent of users were 35 to 44 years old, 14 percent under 54 and 12 percent older than that. Only 4 percent of seniors over 65 were represented. This means that, just like young people, they can hardly be reached on Facebook.
Twitter stood out in the Social Media Demographics due to its particularly even usage. On average, 30% of people in Germany used the platform from time to time, with only one in five people in the over-60 age group interested in it. (agentur-gerhard.de)
TikTok does not provide any figures for Germany, but it is clear from the content that the group of 13 to 20-year-olds in particular, which is not strongly represented anywhere else, is having a lot of fun implementing new ideas here.
How important are the social media demographics of the platforms for marketing?
Facebook and YouTube are the only platforms that allow such exact targeting of ads that the right target group is always reached. Nevertheless, it makes little sense to target groups here that, according to social media demographics, hardly ever use the service.
This more specific targeting of a customer group reduces the costs of the advertising campaign significantly and you get more clicks for less cost. Get independent advice today and plan your marketing mix on the right platforms.
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