Despite demographic differences, social media users quite similar

Key among those similarities is this: most social media users are visiting their favored sites multiple times per day. On Facebook, for example, 51% of users visit "several times each day" while about one-quarter visit once per day. On Instagram 42% visit multiple times per day and 21% visit at least once. Snapchat's numbers indicate 46% visit multiple times daily and 15% visit once per day.

What about the differences? Instagram and Snapchat definitely trend lower in age. More than 60% of those aged 18 to 29 report using Instagram and Snapchat, but the younger they are the more likely they are to use the platform. For example, of those 18 to 29, 75% of those between 18 and 24 say they use Snapchat vs. 47% of those aged 25-29. Compare that to Facebook, more popular overall with older Americans, and you'll see that more than half of adults between 50 and 64 and those over age 65 report using the social network.

More importantly, the number of overall social media users is basically unchanged since last year, an indication that social media growth in the US is slowing. That is likely because most US adults are already on social media and have chose their preferred venues for keeping up with friends, family, and favored brands.

For brands and marketers using social media to engage consumers, this means they need to be aware of where their audiences are. A marketer keying in Young Millennials will want more budget dollars on Instagram than Facebook, for example, while brands targeting adults over age 40 would want more budget dollars hitting Facebook.

More data from the Pew report can be found here.

Tags: advertising, mobile marketing, Pew Research, social marketing, social media ads, social media demographics, social media trends