Social Media Stats

by Paula Santonocito

As recruiters and other HR professionals grapple with how to best leverage social media, questions often arise about the user demographics of each site.

Well, thanks to Swedish company Pingdom, a breakdown of social media sites by user ages is readily available.

Pingdom takes a look at average distribution across the top social media sites and provides graphs that detail each site. The company also offers a few noteworthy observations, including that 64 percent of Twitter users are 35 or older and the average Twitter user is 39 years old. In addition, Pingdom points out that 61 percent of Facebook users are 35 or older and the average Facebook user is 38 years old. Meanwhile, the average LinkedIn user is 44.

Equally interesting is Pingdom's analysis of males vs. females on social networking sites. Consider that 84 percent of the sites, 16 of the 19 sites Pingdom examined, have more female than male users. Here too the company provides a graph, with details for each site.

Interested in using social media to reach out to younger candidates? Older candidates? Women as opposed to men? These social media stats can help you hone your strategy.