Social media: Not just for reaching Millennials

If your social media strategy is centered solely on targeting Millennials, it’s time to rethink your approach.

An article in The New York Times shared data from a recent Nielsen report that shows Americans from 18 to 34 are less obsessed with social media than adults 35 to 49. While Millennials spend an average of 6 hours 19 minutes per week on social networks, Generation X spends an average of 6 hours and 58 minutes.

Baby Boomers and older generations spent an average of 4 hours and 9 minutes a week – not a small amount, but not at the same rate as younger counterparts.

While the margins between Gen Xers and Millennials are slim, it does show that social media consumption is not as overwhelmingly Millennial as we like to think it is. Generation X already tends to be “forgotten” between Baby Boomers and Millennials, so it’s important to not forget them in your social media marketing.

Another important finding in the study is the prevalence of smartphones. Ninety-seven percent of Millennials have a smartphone, 94 percent of Gen Xers do and 77 percent of Baby Boomers and older generations have one. Access to a PC computer was also down year over year across all generations and demographics, while tablet and smartphone access was up across all of the same categories.

That means a mobile-first strategy is key for your business, even if you’re currently just focusing on selling to older customers and don’t care about reaching younger prospects yet.