A new study released by the Pew Research Center focuses on the demographics of social media users. Many of the results were as expected, however there were some surprising nuggets of information:

People from household incomes of $30,000 or less use social networking sites the most – 72%
Hispanics represent the largest ethnic group using social sites – 72%
Only 15% and 13% of respondents say they use Pinterest and Instagram, respectively (I expected the numbers to be a little higher)

Also surprising, specific usage questions on Google+ and YouTube were missing from this study. I realize the Pew Research Center survey took place in December 2012, however how could these two platforms be overlooked? Google+ and YouTube were ranked #2 and #3 behind Facebook, respectively, when it comes to the number of active users as of January 2013; these platforms should not be ignored.

Essentially, well over half of everyone on the internet uses at least one social media platform, across many ages, ethnic backgrounds and income levels. For businesses that are dabbling in social or have not started and don’t know where to start, start here. This data can certainly help businesses prioritize social media objectives so they are speaking to the right people on the right platform. Access the full Pew Research Center study here.

Infographic from Mashable.