Senior Australians Are Starting To Flock To Social Media Platforms

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Millions of senior Australians are joining social media platform for the first time.

Latest study from Sensis, covered in their Yellow Pages Social Media Report, has revealed a new wave of senior Australians (aged 50-64 and 65+) have joined social media for the first time. 58% of Internet users aged 50-64 now use social media, which increased by 6% from 2013. In addition, almost one third of those online, aged 65+ use social media, compared with 24% last year.

On the same study, it is reported that younger people are becoming more active on image-based social sharing platforms, such as Instagram, Tumblr and Snapchat, while the “big names” like Facebook and Twitter are becoming more mainstream.

Both segments are having substantial implications to friends and family interaction. Plus, they have shifted the way consumers are engaging with businesses.

 “We are seeing not only the evolution of communication, but also of relationships. The demographics of social media are shifting. Younger people are fast adopting new platforms while older people are now rapidly getting in on the act. It’s a major shift. Social media has really infiltrated every aspect of our day-to-day lives. We’re using it to keep in touch with friends and family particularly while we travel, to share photos and videos, to organise social activities, and to access the latest news as it happens. There’s also a big trend for parents moving online to keep an eye on what their kids are up to”, said Kelly Brough, Chief Digital Officer at Sensis.

With 99% of Australians now online and 69% of them are using social media, the reasons for using social networking sites are on the rise. Here are some key takeaways:

  • 46% of social media users access one or more social networking sites at least once a day – 42% say it’s the first thing they do in the morning, and 48 per cent say it is the last thing they do before they go to bed at night.
  • 17% of men access social networking sites on the toilet.
  • 48% of men and 49 per cent of women access social networking sites in the bedroom.
  • Almost 10% of users use networking sites to find a potential date.
  • A third (31%) of all users think they spend too much time on social networking sites.
  • Facebook continues to be the most popular platform, used by 95 per cent of social networkers, with users spending over eight and a half hours a week on the site on average.
  • Of the social networking sites that Australians stopped using, Twitter was the most mentioned.
  • 71% of social media users access social networking sites on their smartphones with the app the most popular access channel.
  • Of social media users, 39% are logging in at work, 31% on public transport, 30% at restaurants and bars, and 26% in the car.

We should agree that social media is effectively driving consumer habits, thus presenting massive opportunities for businesses. Still, only 24% of the firms that incorporating social media in their business actually have a plan in place, while the other 30% of them have no idea on their social media strategy. On top of that, only 17% of small firms formally measure the return on their social media investment.

In the age of social media, being clueless on your social media marketing is unacceptable. Start crafting (or fixing) your social media strategy today! Contact our team now or give us a call on 02 9639 2711.

Here is the complete Yellow Pages Social Media Report from Sensis. Right-click here and choose “Save link as…” option to download the PDF version.