As big supporters of engaging with brands in social media—you’ll probably be surprised by the next statement I make. Some people are not ready for social media yet and we should NOT go there.

In order to provide smart and strategic counsel, an all or nothing approach is not necessarily the right approach. The Pew Internet & American Life Project released recent survey findings regarding American’s use of microblogging sites like Twitter, Yammer (yes, it looks like people are still using it!) and others.

Some key results:

• Nearly one in five (19%) online adults ages 18 and 24 have ever used Twitter and its ilk, as have 20% of online adults 25 to 34. Use of these services drops off steadily after age 35 with 10% of 35 to 44 year olds and 5% of 45 to 54 year olds using Twitter. The decline is even more stark among older internet users; 4% of 55-64 year olds and 2% of those 65 and older use Twitter.
• Twitter users are also slightly more likely to live in urban areas, with 35% of Twitter users living in urban areas (compared to 29% of all internet users) and just 9% of
  Twitterers and status updaters living in rural areas, compared to 17% of internet users.
  

Now, while there are tons of reports about WHO is on Twitter and WHO is on Facebook—sometimes it’s hard to actually take what is really the important part of this data when targeting this audience. How about we take what is available to us and figure out where we SHOULDN’T be putting our dollars. If Twitter is used by people who live in cities, take Twitter out of your marketing plan for a rural target product. Is your target audience over 45+? While it may look good to include Twitter in your proposal as a company that “gets” social media, you’re only hurting yourself. Think about your audience and where you shouldn’t go. It’s just as important as where you SHOULD be.