Insights:Is Instagram a smart way to reach older consumers?

Marketers have long known that Instagram, the photo and video sharing social media app, is a target-rich opportunity for businesses trying to reach the coveted 18- to 29-year-old demographic. With over a billion users around the world and approximately 110 million U.S. users as of April 2019, that’s a lot of potential customers.

What some may not have noticed is the graying trend of this platform. A combination of dissatisfaction with Facebook, increasing comfort navigating social media and the general preference for visual information has resulted in a dramatic increase in Instagram users in the 39-to-49 age category. According to the Pew Research Center, over 40% of U.S. adults in this age group use Instagram.

As an aside, Facebook actually owns Instagram, so if users are switching to show their frustration with the big daddy of social media networks, they’re not really accomplishing much.

Instagram offers a variety of ways for marketers to advertise including Instagram ads, newsfeeds posts and stories.

But more interesting is that 70% of users look up brands on Instagram. And 7 out of 10 Instagram hashtags are branded. So if your competitor is leveraging Instagram and you’re not, they could be at a significant advantage.

While the 39- to 49-year-olds continue to swell the ranks of Instagram, it’s actually users in the 65-through-74 age group that are most likely to search out products after seeing them on Instagram. More than twice as much as any other demographic group on the platform.

Rebecca Christman, Insight Marketing Design’s Social Media Specialist, said: “Instagram is often overlooked by businesses trying to reach an older demographic. The reality is they can be effectively targeted on this platform and the visual nature of the posts makes it an ideal way to capture attention and create new customers.”

The bottom line is that Social Media is constantly in flux, with large demographic groups moving to new platforms as they become more mainstream. Being ahead of the curve and knowing how best to use each social media site can deliver a significant return on your marketing investment.

If you’d like to learn more about creating a presence for your brand on Instagram or any of the myriad of social media options, Give Rebecca a call at 605-275-0011 or email her at [email protected]

And, of course, we invite you to follow Insight Marketing Design on Instagram.