I’m tired. Of life?
No … I’m tired of marketers’ and researchers’ ploys to convince me and my clients that Social Media only applies to white female moms with HHI of $75K+. This may sound like a ridiculous thing to be fed up with, but hear me out.
- While the fact that here 300 million users on Facebook and there are more females (55%) using the site than males is consistently parroted, the thing that is often overlooked is that 45% of those users are going to be male. When I made a mock Facebook ad targetting males in the U.S. 25-54, 24,722,340 users came up as eligible to receive my Facebook ad. 24,722,340! How it the world is this an insignificant number to other marketers? Having just a fraction of that number for fans creates an opportunity for some of the most targeted and meaningful advertising in the world today!
- According to a recent study by Liberty Mutual, two very interesting facts about men’s online behavior include the following:
- With the exception of Facebook, men are generally more likely than women to use their other social media accounts at least a few times a week, particularly Twitter:
- MySpace: 35 percent of men vs. 26 percent of women, LinkedIn: 25 percent of men vs. 16 percent of women, and Twitter: 53 percent of men vs. 38 percent of women
- Dads are more likely than moms to have a MySpace account or a Twitter account, 43 percent vs. 29 percent and 50 percent vs. 32 percent, respectively.
- With the exception of Facebook, men are generally more likely than women to use their other social media accounts at least a few times a week, particularly Twitter:
- And, lastly, simply perusing the LinkedIn site, I came across their demographic breakdown of users—51% male, HHI 100K+, 35–50+. Don’t know about your marketing experience, but the mere fact that there is a single place where this demographic comes to talk about all things corporate and business-related, where I don’t have to do any schmoozing, is the greatest gift I’ve been given in a long time. One could equate it to finding the Holy Grail.
Moral of the story: Men are on social networking sites. They have different objectives, different patterns, but are on there nonetheless. So, please, stop assuming that every online tactic has to be centered around shopping moms. Because the truth is, the great success of those campaigns is only because coupons are the big rage in the “economy today.” It’s the only reason I joined half the Fan Pages I did, and I’ve not visited again … NOT ONCE.
So, I’m begging, stop all this bleating about mom, and take a look at half the world your advertising is missing out on by making assumptions rather than looking at the facts—men use social media. Get used to it.
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