Trends and demographics are always important in any context. Social media is one context in which trends and demographics are especially important. Not understanding this area has the potential to harm you personally and professionally. Your company’s awareness, advertising, marketing, public relations, and growth potential can suffer.
Reflecting on 2013, Belle Beth Cooper (Cofounder of Hello Code) shares two amazing statistics you probably never knew. Here is the first one:
“ YouTube reaches more U.S. adults aged 18–34 than any cable network. ”
Historically, television has been the heavy hitter for that audience. It still definitely has a pull—just not as powerfully as YouTube. I think the first time many people visited YouTube in its early days, they probably thought it was a pretty wild and wacky site. It might still be in many ways, but it has become so much more. YouTube’s self-description on its “About” page says it well:
“ Founded in February 2005, YouTube allows billions of people to discover, watch and share originally-created videos. YouTube provides a forum for people to connect, inform, and inspire others across the globe and acts as a distribution platform for original content creators and advertisers large and small. ”
Here is Cooper’s second amazing statistic:
“ Social media has overtaken porn as the no. 1 activity on the Web. ”
For most of its days, the Internet’s major activity has been pornography. That very fact was behind some people’s reluctance to venture online. Now, for the first time, pornography has been dwarfed by social media’s exponential growth. It is heartening to see this recent shift in the swing of the pendulum.
Certainly, not all social media is created equal. Social media presents its own extremes in quality, taste, and content. Circumspect Internet users will always browse selectively and carefully.
You probably did not know these two amazing statistics. I did not until Cooper’s article came across my radar. Once again, the world of social media continues its fascinating evolution. I cannot wait to see where it takes us next.