Social Media Strategies – Whom to Focus On?
Chris Ruddell

Much ado has been made about social media strategies lately.

Pundits have lent their expertise to topics such as “how to be more effective on Google+, Pinterest, or Twitter”, or “how do I know what to post?”

The number of networks and the type of posts people make are so numerous that it causes many people – especially those new to the scene – to feel overwhelmed, confused, and at a loss as to where to begin.

If that’s you, perhaps this will simplify things: A recent study released by Edison Research reveals several trends – some of which are not surprising or exciting to many people.

Among them include:
* 44% of all Americans age 12 and up own a smartphone, representing half of all cell-phone owners.
* 61% own a portable media device (smartphone, mp3 player, tablet); 40% own an Apple device.
* Americans aged 45+ represent the largest percentage increase in social media usage in the past year, now up to 38%.
* 17% of all cell phone owners have listened to online radio streamed in their cars.
* 15% are registered users of daily deals services such as Groupon and LivingSocial.

All in all, these statistics are not all that revealing. However, the third one (45+ year-olds are the fastest growing segment of social media) tells an interesting story beneath the data. One of Edison Research’s employees, Tom Webster, wrote a follow-up article to this study, pointing out that while the aging population might show the fastest growth in social media, the highest adoption rate is without a doubt still among the younger population.

Check out this graphic he provided:

As you can see, the 12-24 age range has at least an 80% adoption rate for social media!!

There’s not much in this life that 80% of teenagers and young adults can agree upon, but social media seems to be one. Tom even goes so far as to say that social media “has changed the behavior of Americans in their formative years.” Not only that, but Facebook is the network responsible.

According to the research, 96% of Americans that use social media use Facebook. That’s a staggering number. But it is also a hopeful one for anyone trying to identify a quick and easy social media strategy. If you don’t know where to begin, begin with Facebook. Facebook has become so popular that some tech pundits are proclaiming that Google should be very afraid. But for the rest of us, it makes social media strategies simple.

As far as what to post on Facebook, I’ll leave others to post about that for now. Everyone has a different opinion. Based on how research companies like Edison Research segment the population, it probably makes sense to target age groups on your posts. But then again, researches make it their prerogative to differentiate our society into as many groups as there are human characteristics to dream about.

The above article, “Social Media Strategies – Whom to Focus On?” is written by Chris Ruddell. The article was excerpted from www.churchm.ag website, where it was published in April of 2012.

The material is most likely copyrighted and should not be reprinted under any other name or author. However, this material may be freely used for personal study or research purposes.

This article may not be written by an Apostolic author, but it contains many excellent principles and concepts that can be adapted to most churches. As the old saying goes, “Eat the meat. Throw away the bones.”

Apostolic Online www.apostolic.edu – Administration