Arkansans “Like” Facebook – Does Your Small Business?
As most anyone reading this blog knows, last month Facebook announced reaching the 500 million mark worldwide. In the United States, Facebook continues to grow as well… across all age groups. Today, slightly more than 4 out of every 10 Americans are logging in on Facebook. Of the estimated 305,921,000 Americans, the most recent figures show 131,567,700 are involved with this social media network. And…small businesses across the country have been quick to capitalize on this unique opportunity to market their products or services to potential customers with Facebook pages.
But…that’s fine if you live in a big city like New York, Dallas, or San Francisco but what about little ole’ Arkansas? We usually trail the country in most statistics that matter…surely we are behind the pack when it comes to social media…or are we?
I decided to find out whether Arkies “LIKE” Facebook in sufficient numbers to make it worth a small business owner’s time. The numbers indicate…YES, especially if your target market is between 20 and 54 years of age. Using population estimates from DemographicsNow and Facebook statistics from two sources: checkfacebook.com and Facebook’s own statistical data available from “Advertise on Facebook”, I found out that while we are below the national average we do have a very respectable showing.
Better than 1 out of every 3 people you meet in “The Natural State” is logging on and Arkansas ladies are actually more likely than their sisters across the country to connect with friends and family on Facebook.
- Women make up 51.2% of the state population
- Women make up 56.7% of the State Facebook users
- Women ON Facebook in the state make up almost 40% of the total state population
Men in Arkansas make a good showing but are less likely than their male counterparts across the country to log on –41.9% for Arkansas compared to 43.5% nationally.
Since many small business owners have told me that “only high school and college kids” are using Facebook, I thought I would try to find out if it is just youngsters or is Grandma chatting up socially too? While Arkansans under 24 do make up a large part of the total state Facebook population, as would be expected… a surprising number of Gen X, Baby Boomers and older are there as well. The following table provides a break out of Arkansans on Facebook by age categories.
As would be expected younger age groups are more likely to be on Facebook than older demographic groups but a surprising number of Arkansans 45 and older are logging on and getting social!
As a business owner in Arkansas IF my target market group are between the ages of 25 and 54
there should be NO QUESTION… customers and potential customers are significantly more likely to be on Facebook…maybe I should be too!
I was particularly surprised by the bar chart to the left. Where the light brownor tan represents each age category as a percentage of total state population and the dark brown shows each category’s contribution to total state Facebook numbers.
The Implication for small business owners in Arkansas is pretty clear…especially those who segment their customers into target markets based on demographics such as age groups or gender. If your target markets include Arkansas households where the customer is between age 20 and 45 there is a significant probability that your customers are on Facebook (categories where % of Facebook users by age is equivalent to or greater than that category’s percentage of total state population (i.e. customers age 25-34 make up 12.9% of total state population but make up 21.7% of Facebook users) While I am not advocating that our small businesses quit their current marketing tools, I would certainly suggest that integrating social media marketing tools such as Facebook may be a innovative way to reach out to customers in a cost effective manner that can drive sales.
THE NUMBERS ARE IN, ARKIES “Like” Facebook and it spans the generations. Social Media Marketing has unique features that will allow any small business owner, EVEN IN ARKANSAS, to find and communicate with potential or existing customers in extremely cost effective ways.
But…I hear the rebuttals now…”well that may be alright for Little Rock or the Fayetteville area but what about us little business guys in Possum Grape or Oil Trough? Can a small rural business really use social media networks like Facebook effectively? ”
GREAT QUESTION… stay tuned for our next blog article! I pulled demographic and Facebook user information for all 15 of the counties in the ASU Small Business and Technology Development Center’s “trade zone” to see. The answers MAY surprise you. 
Got questions about social media marketing in general or about how small businesses in Arkansas can use Facebook as an effective low cost marketing tool? the Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center network across the state can help you get the information you need from our free and confidential business consulting assistance to our low cost small business seminars. To find a center near you or for more in
formation visit our state website and see how the ASBTDC network can help your business grow.
Herb Lawrence is the Center Director for the ASU SBTDC helping small businesses and entrepreneurs in Northeast & North Central Arkansas achieve their dreams for over 14 years. Connect with Herb on Facebook or e-mail hlawrenc@astate.edu.
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