It's Raining Men ... Or Is It?

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You can ask just about anyone on the street about men and you’ll get just about as many varied responses as there are hours in the day. For example, there are the 5 Types of Men Every Women Wants and the 5 Types of Men Every Woman Should Avoid. There’s also the 18 Types of Men You Should Date Before Getting Married and this Handy Guide to All Gay Men, too.   

With all this conflicting information about men floating around, it’s no wonder reaching them has actually become more difficult in the midst of the present social media marketing craze.

For instance, 82% of Pinterest users are women. Meaning that, as great as pinning may be for general online marketing, it might not be a good choice for targeting men. 

Similarly, there is a significant amount of data indicating that men are far less likely to engage on Facebook. Recently, the Pew Internet & American Life Project reported that women were almost twice as likely to post Facebook status updates as men were, and 18% of women update their status daily vs. just 11% of men. Women are also more likely to comment on posts and photos several times daily. 

Let’s not overlook gaming, either. Once believed to be the sole domain for young men outside the locker room at the gym, women have taken over this area, too, with women making up 55% of the online gaming population. 

Where are men left to turn to then? 

So, while women’s share of the social networking pie has increased recently, there are still a few social networks and online destinations where men still dominate, for now at least. User-generated news site Reddit is 84% male, Google+ is 71% and LinkedIn comes in at 63%.

Surprisingly, mobile, too, is a male-dominated medium. According to new research from IAB & InMobi, mobile screens have a strong influence on male moviegoers. More men than women use their mobile devices to screen trailers (40% vs. 27%), pick a film (71% vs. 69%), check social media movie reviews & watch pre-trailer advertisements. Males were also more likely than females to check social media to see what friends think of a movie (38% vs. 33%).

One would think recent trends both in popular marketing and public opinion have made it more difficult to specifically focus on men. In fact, I bet that some readers will consider these observations, well, sexist. Regardless, there exists quite a number of opportunities for brands to effectively engage this demographic almost exclusively via Facebook, mobile, LinkedIn and Reddit, to name just a few. 

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1 comment on "It's Raining Men ... Or Is It? ".

1. Jonathan Hutter from Garrand
   

   commented on: October 18, 2012 at 10:51 a.m.
   Every guy knows that it's not difficult to reach men. You just have to know the nuances. Do women do online gaming more? Not by much. But if you know the right games, you know where the men are, and which types as well based on the types of games. Even though Pinterest is heavily geared to women, the right subjects reach men (check out my board of quotes and scenes from The Godfather). With all of these media choices, expanding across platforms, the idea of reaching men en masse no longer really applies. We should look at the types of men we want to reach, and find those activities. I expect that while men may be earlier adopters of mobile, women will jump ahead in this area also. They are so predictable.

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