Social Media Usage Way up in Last 10 Years

This Pew Research item Social Media Usage: 2005-2015 (shared by Sarah Miller — on Twitter) gives all the stats.  It points to the fact that if you are still not harnessing the power of social media to both connect with people by sending out information or also collecting information via that medium — you are missing the boat. In fact, the boat left the dock a long time ago.

The one age group I think is lost is the "aged" population. Those people in their 70s-80s and beyond who are not connected on the Internet. Some are, but the people I know in that category are choosing to stay off the Internet grid. As one five-star hotel told me once, occasionally they get a physical letter from someone wanting to book a room.

One of the good things about the demographics of who is using social media is the high rates of use by Latinos and African-Americans, both of whom we want to reach with our messaging.

If anything is part of your strategic plan, how to leverage social media should be at the top of the list. Printing brochures should be going to the bottom of that list.