See the full size infographic

We can’t deny the fact that kids these days are getting mobile electronic devices at a younger age than ever before. As an example, my 4-year-old nephew had a Kindle Fire at the age of 3. In fact, all of my nieces and nephews, who range in age from 4 to 8, own some type of mobile device. Because this is a growing trend in the world today, marketers need to use social media and other digital marketing techniques to stay in front of their upcoming consumers.

Common Sense Media did a study on How Teens View Their Digital Lives that I found to be very interesting.

The survey polled 13-17 year-olds from around the U.S. to find out how social media plays a role in their lives. They discovered that 90 percent of them use some form of social media today, and the majority of teens use digital communications as a part of their daily lives. The results of this survey are not surprising, but I hear companies often say their target audience doesn’t use social media. That comment can’t be further from the truth.

There are many reports like the one from Common Sense Media showing social media and mobile device usage … and how they are being used. There are over 5.6 billion mobile phones being used in the world today. That is 79 percent of the world population! Approximately 55 percent of mobile owners access the web and predictions have been made that by 2014 using mobile to access the Internet will top desktop computer usage.

Mashable posted an infographic created by Online MBA which breaks down the demographics using the biggest social networks today. More than 66 percent of all adults are connected to one or more social media platforms. Interestingly, people 45 and older make up 46 percent of Facebook users.

See full size Infographic

You may need to evaluate your marketing plan if you think your demographics don’t use social media or mobile devices.

Other related Infographics

Just before the holidays, my boss asked me about  Pinterest . Now I have to admit that when she asked I had never heard of it, however afterwards I noticed everyone I knew was talking about Pinterest. It turns out that Pinterest is a visual bookmarking social media tool. 

Pinterest acts as a digital corkboard that lets you organize and share visual things that inspire you. It has a little something for everyone no matter what your interests are, including cooking, arts and crafts, design, DIY things, architecture, things for kids, etc.  As a designer I have to say I’m in love with Pinterest and wish I had more time to create boards all day long.

With the growth Pinterest is experiencing it is becoming an important tool for brands and companies looking to push products online. According to  Mashable, the site has 3 million users and surpassed 421 million page views (as of Oct. 2011). While 70 percent of “pinners” are female, according to Open Forum and other sources, one simply can’t avoid the discussion on how to use this tool to market products and services, especially if the target audience is women.  

Here are a few brands that have jumped at this opportunity. Based on the number of people following them and repining their images, I have to say it is a success for the brands below:

Brands on Pinterest Board

Whole Foods Market - Grocery | 12,171 followers
West Elm - Furniture | 9,894 followers
Mashable - Digital news source | 8,934 followers
General Electric - Products | 289 followers
GAP - Clothing | 1,615 followers
Food Network - TV cooking network | 2,429 followers
Lowes - Home Improvement |  1,553 followers

If you know of other companies worthy of mentioning that I have missed please share them.

Follow me on Pinterest