As I have started to work for my new client creating a public relations plan, the subject of social media and its uses with different audiences has come up often, specifically with Facebook.
There are many misconceptions when it comes to the uses of social media and what audiences it can attract. People generally associate social media with the younger generation, high school and college students, recent college graduates and young professionals. This is no longer the case.
Since opening its website to the public, giving anybody the ability to create an account, more and more people over the age of 35 have been creating Facebook pages. Not only that, women account for a large growing demographic in the Facebook world. Many people in older generations are beginning to see the benefits of Facebook and the connections it helps to keep. Mothers and grandmothers now have the ability to log-on and see their children and grandchildren’s status, look at pictures of them and send messages saying, “Good luck with that midterm,” or “Just wanted to say I love you.”
What does this mean for the world of public relations? It’s a smart idea for PR professionals, young and old, to remember that Facebook and other social media tools can reach many audiences of all ages. It’s also important to remember that older generations have more time and money than broke college students, making it important to reach multiple audiences with these tools. A non-profit organization that helps different audiences within the community needs to tailor its content to all its important audiences, not just the younger generation. With a better understanding of who is on Facebook, public relations professionals can make better decisions about how to work social media use into strategies for their clients.
For more information about which audiences are growing on Facebook, here is a really interesting blog post a friend sent to me, which I thought I might pass along: http://tinyurl.com/yadb4fu
Casey Colesworthy, Account Supervisor
