Social Media Preferences and

AgeBy: Madelin Plagenhoef

Agenda1. Management Decision & Marketing Research

Problem

2. Secondary Data

3. Exploratory Research

1. Facebook

2. Instagram

3. Chi-Square Test

4. Limitations

5. Implications

6. Conclusion

Management & Marketing Problem

Management Decision Problem:Should management develop new tactics to best appeal to their target consumers in regards to their social media preferences?

Marketing Research Problem:To determine the impact of age on social media preferences and to then further determine how this information can best be used to drive traffic, interest and ultimately profit for any business that wants to reach a specific target market.

Methodology:Ho: Age is independent of social media preferenceHa: Age is dependent of social media preference

Secondary Data According to a study at Duke University, social

media marketing spending is expected to more than double in the next 5 years.

Business Insider posted an article stating that “the demographics of who's on what social network are shifting — older social networks are reaching maturity, while newer social messaging apps are gaining younger users fast.”

Exploratory ResearchData Collection

Survey distributed through social media networks and at local schools.

Survey Monkey

308 responses selected at random

Total

146

17

100

3041

Social Media Preference Overall

Facebook Twitter Instagram LinkedIn Snapchat

Exploratory ResearchData Collection Facebook preference grows as age increases in

older generations while Instagram preference decreases with age.

(12-17) (18-24) (25-34) (36-48) (49-60) 60+0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

41

22

32

41

46

63 4

2 1 1

25

40

27

3 3 20

3

11 10

42

22

85

3 30

Age Vs. Social Media Preference

Facebook Twitter Instagram LinkedIn Snapchat

Exploratory ResearchData Collection: Facebook

Hypothesis:Ho: Facebook preference is independent of a user’s age groupHa: Facebook preference is dependent of a user’s age group

P-value = 0.0017

Conclusion: Reject the null hypothesis, concluding significant evidence proving that there is a strong linear correlation between Age and Facebook user Preference

R Square = 0.933362

Conclusion: Approximately 93.33% of the variation in age can be explained by Facebook preference by the Facebook regression model.ANOVA

df SS MS F Significance FRegression 1 16.33383572 16.33384 56.02585 0.001703672Residual 4 1.16616428 0.291541Total 5 17.5 Multiple R 0.966107

R Square 0.933362Adjusted R Square 0.916703Standard Error 0.539945Observations 6

SUMMARY OUTPUT

Regression StatisticsFacebook

Coefficients Standard Error t Stat P-valueIntercept 1.162019593 0.382302248 3.039531 0.03842Facebook 0.096081387 0.012836453 7.485042 0.001704

Exploratory ResearchData Collection: Instagram

Hypothesis:Ho: Instagram preference is independent of a user’s age groupHa: Instagram preference is dependent of a user’s age group

P-Value = 0.042884

Conclusion: we need to reject the null hypothesis and conclude that there is significant evidence proving that there is a strong linear correlation between Age and Instagram Preference

R Square value = 0.681917

Conclusion: Approximately 68.19% of the variation in age in can be explained by the Instagram regression model.

ANOVAdf SS MS F Significance F

Regression 1 11.93355397 11.93355 8.575349 0.042883521Residual 4 5.566446029 1.391612Total 5 17.5

Coefficients Standard Error t Stat P-valueIntercept 5.09114053 0.726063712 7.011975 0.002178Instagram -0.095468432 0.032601223 -2.92837 0.042884

Multiple R 0.825783R Square 0.681917Adjusted R Square 0.602397Standard Error 1.179666Observations 6

SUMMARY OUTPUTInstagram

Regression Statistics

Descriptive ResearchChi Squared Test

With a chi-square value of 223.872 and with a P-value of 0, we reject the null hypothesis at a significance level of 0.05.

Therefore, concluding that there is an association between social media preference and age.

Age Groups Facebook Twitter Instagram LinkedIn Snapchat Total(12-17) 4 6 25 0 22 57(18-24) 1 3 40 3 8 51(25-34) 22 4 27 11 5 53(36-48) 32 2 3 10 3 50(49-60) 41 1 3 4 3 52

60+ 46 1 2 2 0 51Total 146 17 100 30 41 334

Observed Social Media Preferences Age Groups Facebook Twitter Instagram LinkedIn Snapchat Total

(12-17) 24.91616766 2.901197605 17.06586826 5.11976048 6.99700599 57(18-24) 22.29341317 2.595808383 15.26946108 4.58083832 6.26047904 51(25-34) 23.16766467 2.69760479 15.86826347 4.76047904 6.50598802 53(36-48) 21.85628743 2.54491018 14.97005988 4.49101796 6.13772455 50(49-60) 22.73053892 2.646706587 15.56886228 4.67065868 6.38323353 52

60+ 22.29341317 2.595808383 15.26946108 4.58083832 6.26047904 51Total 114.964072 13.3862275 78.742515 23.6227545 32.2844311 263

Expected Social Media Preferences

Limitations Sources of Error

Method in which the survey participants were gathered

Bias towards social media network survey shared on

Limited Reach

Bias towards 18-24 year old responses

Regional bias

Unreliable Data

False responses through survey

To help control for these extraneous variables we selected 50 responses from each age group

Implications Future Experimental Research for Facebook:

Companies with older target markets of over 30 years old

AARP

AAA

Life insurance

Future Experimental Research for Instagram:

Reach younger age group of less than 30 years old

Free People Apparel

College loans

Conclusion Our results depict P-values of less than an alpha of 0.05

and a chi-square of 223.872, meaning we reject the null hypothesis that age group is independent of social media preference. This means that there is a strong correlation between social media preference and age.

Younger age groups enjoy visual media that they can experience quickly such as Instagram, Snapchat and Vine, while older crowds enjoy words and content such as Facebook and LinkedIn.

This research gives businesses looking to expand or increase sales insight into their target markets through social media networking.

Works Cited 

CMOs Big Social Media Spending Plans Continue. (2012, August 12). Retrieved November 18, 2014.

"Facebook Gets Older: Demographic Report Shows 3 Million Teens Left Social Network In 3 Years." International Business Times. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2014.

Guimarães, T. (2014, November 4). REVEALED: The Demographic Trends For Every Social Network. Retrieved November 18, 2014.

"3 Million Teens Leave Facebook In 3 Years: The 2014 Facebook Demographic Report." IStrategyLabs A Digital Agency That Invents Solutions Online and Off. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2014.