Since 2006 people have begun to realize that all social networks are not the same.  We’ve at times advised folks not even to bother with a myspace page.  This advice is wrong.

As the various social networks diverge and segment their appeal, we all need to be focused on what we can do to get the most out of each segment.

CNN’s technology section recently wrote about this topic and calls this a “class divide.”

MySpace has one population, Facebook has another….  A recent study by market research firm Nielsen Claritas found that people in more affluent demographics are 25 percent more likely to be found friending on Facebook, while the less affluent are 37 percent more likely to connect on MySpace.

More specifically, almost 23 percent of Facebook users earn more than $100,000 a year, compared to slightly more than 16 percent of MySpace users. On the other end of the spectrum, 37 percent of MySpace members earn less than $50,000 annually, compared with about 28 percent of Facebook users.

These differences, however, do not highlight that one network is worth your time while another is not. That the largest social networks are segregating into niches is a positive in that you can now better target your message.

MySpace appears to have “matured” and settled into a certain demographic, which appears generally to be a more younger and perhaps less sophisticated crowd.  Their managementt is now focused on trying to extract the most value of that specific market, which is why they have spent time and money this past year hiring the sorts of people who know how to do this.   Facebook, of course, is trying to grow financially, but is also still growing their user base globally and among “older” users aged 35-54.

The key for you as a marketer of your music is to alter your approach, look and feel on each platform that appeals to the specific user base of that platform.

Bottom line – while it would be nice to simply have only one spot to update, you will likely continue to have to monitor your marketing on several platforms to best expand your reach.

The next set of data I’d personally like to see is how much money the users of the major social networks spend on music.  I have a feeling that making more annual income does not necessarily mean spending more annually on music.  I’ll keep my eye out for that data…

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Social networking by the numbers (Source: The Nielsen Co., via CNN.com):