What social platforms are parents on?

If you’re a small business geared towards parents, you may be wondering how to reach your target audience. Recently, we’ve covered Influencer Marketing: 5 things I've learned about marketing to parents and 5 stats about marketing to parents in 2023. 

Parents, like other demographics, tune into social media for product recommendations and tutorials, advice, and more. We’ve said it time and again, as a business, you want to be where your audience is, so let’s take a look at what social media platforms parents are on - based on the stats!

According to one study, US mothers aged 18 to 39 years appeared more likely to use Facebook and less likely to use Snapchat, Twitter, TikTok, and Reddit than women aged 18 to 39 years who are not parents. Based on the same study, mothers also appeared more likely to use Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat, and TikTok while fathers appeared more likely to use Twitter and Reddit. (we’ll see what happens with Twitter in a month or so!)

Based on this study, if you’re marketing to parents, and particularly mothers, Facebook may be a good place to start, followed by other platforms like Instagram. As noted in the statistic above, not all parents flock to the same social media platforms and their habits can differ. For example, if you’re marketing to both fathers and mothers, you may want to be present on a few select platforms.

But what does other research suggest?

If you’re marketing to millennial parents, as mentioned in our previous blog, 86% of millennial dads turn to YouTube for guidance, but it’s not only dads who are turning to YouTube. According to Google, 72% of Millennial parents agree they use YouTube to make better purchases for their child. This stat shows that it could be beneficial for your brand to be on YouTube, but it won’t be the right fit for every brand (especially since it’s a video- based platform). If your content can include things like how-to’s and advice, YouTube could work for your business.

There’s no denying that TikTok has been a major player in the social media sphere and they grew really fast, but are parents turning to the app as well? According to research, only one-quarter of US parents reported using TikTok. Use of TikTok among parents is, however, higher among women and younger parents. Globally, 60% of all TikTok users are GenZ (currently 11-26 years old), while 52.8% of content creators on the app are aged 18-24. If your demographic includes young and/or new parents, particularly mothers, TikTok may be worth considering.

So what should you do? 

Based on the stats above, there are a few platforms that stand out, such as Facebook, Youtube, Instagram, and even TikTok (for younger mothers in particular). 

With that said, it’s important to remember that these stats may not represent and reflect all parents in all markets - but it’s a great starting point! Choosing the right social media platforms for your business is something that you’re really going to have to think over and even research further. Make sure you know exactly who your target is (i.e. moms, dads, or both), think of your goals, your resources/bandwidth, and more. Don’t forget to check out your competitors as well - looking at what platforms they’re on can help give you a better idea of where your audience is and how they engage with brands and that can help guide you.

Need more guidance?

Book your free 20 minute consultation to find out how we may be able to help you get started on social media.