An article discussing why UK brands need to look to target younger audiences through social circles.
A recent survey of UK social media use has found the need for brands to look to target ever-younger audiences to help increase engagement and visibility through online portals. The survey, conducted by Opinion Research, found an increasing number of older UK social media users are using these networks on a more infrequent basis, and as such brands ought to consider targeting younger age groups to ensure they reap success from their social campaigns.
The survey found a correlation between an increase in age and a decrease in social media use. For example, for those aged 20 and younger, 87% of the UK’s population use networks such as Facebook and Twitter. Compare that to those in their 50s, 60s and 70s, and percentages continue to drop, to 49%, 39% and 29% respectively. Further to this, a correlation again appears when studying the number of inactive accounts in relation to the age of users. For example, whilst only 13% of those in their 20s are currently inactive, for those in their 50s this number jumps to 51%.
Clearly brands looking for a return on their marketing investment need to look towards younger audiences. As younger people continue to look towards these networks to converse with each other, brands are presented with increasing opportunities to increase their visibility and attract a wider fan base. Coupled with the increased popularity and use of smartphones, users are able to access these networks from multiple locations whenever they choose, rather than just at their homes. With this ease of accessibility, brands clearly need to consider the move towards social media marketing and specific age group targeting, assuming they haven’t already done so.
Of course, brands shouldn’t look to write-off older age groups altogether, they must instead look to mostly target younger audiences. Although trends point towards the need to target younger consumers, brands can’t only look towards younger audiences, as this is likely to alienate those in older age brackets. Such alienation is an easy way to lose fans and thereby give the brand a negative appeal across online channels. However, priority still ought to look more towards younger audiences given their continued rise to prominence across the online sphere. Brands may still see some return on investment through older audiences, but with younger user continuing to prove more prevalent, clearly marketers must look in their direction to ensure engagement and visibility improves.
Brands looking to employ social media marketing strategies need to consider targeting a younger fan base over other age groups. Clearly those in their 20s and younger are the leading consumers of media through social channels, and the likelihood is this trend will continue, if anything only growing in prominence as more users look to interact with each other through these networks. Brands can’t automatically write off targeting older consumers due to this, but significance must be placed on young age groups to ensure maximum return on investment is achieved.
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