RonAmok!

Earlier this week, I spoke before an Ad Agency. After my talk, a member of the audience approached and asked if Social Media is appropriate for all demographic audiences.

Usually, such a question comes spring-loaded with a belief that Social Media is for the “youngins,” but I wanted to clarify this assumption before answering.

The man described his client, an upscale restaurant with an older demographic audience with income of over $150,000 per year, etc…

I explained that traditional demographic data doesn’t account for passion. Upscale diners are typically foodies who want to know every detail about their food, from the presentation, to the ingredients, to the preparation techniques. They like to exchange stories, recipes and share new dining experiences with other foodies. They watch “Top Chef,” “Iron Chef,” and scoff at Chef Boyardee. Therefore, if online content exists for them to satisfy these passionate cravings, then yes, they are an appropriate audience for Social Media.

Think about categorizing Social Media users more by their passions than by their age. For example, the average age of a Harley Davidson owner is 47 years old — not typically considered the “Social Media demographic.” Yet, the Harley Davidson’s Facebook fan page has over 178,000 fans!

Think passion, not age, income, etc… Find where your passionate customers live online. Then create content that helps them satisfy their informational cravings.

Good online content is to passionate customers like honey is to bears are to honey.

Photo Credit: jameschip

Tags: passionographics demographics Social Networking New Media Evangelist