Marketers continue to explore social media networks, developing lead-gen strategies to convert prospects into loyal customers. With brands clambering to turn social outreach programs into money-making opportunities, new features and practices have surfaced to help marketing departments maximize their ROI. This has fueled the rise of newer networks and supported the ongoing success of weathered social media hubs.
A recent report from Burst Media highlighted adoption rates for select social media platforms among both male and female web audiences. The data helps marketers understand where to focus their dollars and cents when targeting specific demographics. Overall, Burst Media discovered that women are more likely to engage on social media than men. This projection comes from a March 2013 survey of more than 2,500 U.S. adults.
Google+ has the second-most active user base, with 26.1 percent of females and 24.5 percent of males engaging on the sites on a regular basis.
Facebook is the largest social network with 56 percent of U.S. females and 49.5 percent of American males active on the website. Burst Media reported that Google+ has the second-most active user base, with 26.1 percent of females and 24.5 percent of males engaging on the sites on a regular basis. Twitter and LinkedIn both lag behind Facebook and Google+ in terms of active members, according to the Burst Media data.
Brafton’s “Social Media Horse Race” infographic tells a different story. According to Nielsen data, Google+ is a much smaller platform than Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, but its growth in recent months could suggest it’s picking up steam. Of course, Google+’s monthly active user mark will always be questioned, as the search engine company has counted Gmail users with Google+ accounts as regular site members in the past.
Marketers can learn from these unique reports and improve their audience targeting efforts. Because social networks attract diverse audiences based on their features and functions, brands have new opportunities to deliver social media content to ideal prospects. Companies that want to maximize the impact of their social media marketing campaigns must conduct preliminary research to better understand the value of Facebook compared to Google+, and Twitter compared to LinkedIn. Knowing which media site to use for lead generation will dictate the future success of any company’s online marketing ventures.
