Social media is no longer the darling of just teenagers and celebrities. Industrial buyers – of all ages – are actually putting LinkedIn and its ilk to good use in their professional lives, giving B2B marketers another tool and another challenge to reach their target audiences.

Social media’s increased popularity among industrial buyers is one of many findings in a report recently released by IEEE Engineering360. “2016 Social Media Use in the Industrial Sector” is based on answers from 850 survey respondents who work in the industrial and research fields.

A good majority of the survey participants began their professional lives before the dawn of the Internet: 68% of the respondents said they were over age 49, 18% were 35-49 and 10% were 18-35 (4% chose not to give their age).

Regardless of age, 82% of all respondents reported using social media for up to two hours per week for work purposes, without a material difference in responses from the different age groups.

We all know that having a professional appearance is an important part of a marketing strategy that can help build credibility and trust with customers while distinguishing a company from its competitors. This aspect of branding should resonate throughout all areas of marketing, including social media. Establishing continuity across all marketing platforms is challenging, but can be accomplished with the proper use of professional photography, color and consistency in style.

It seems that many companies are on board with maximizing the appearance of their social media sites, but it is surprising that there are still some companies out there that aren’t taking advantage of such a considerable opportunity for fully and suitably promoting their brand. Although social media is often a conversational, casual and informal platform, it does hold a very significant weight in current marketing strategies that should not be taken lightly, and the appearance of these sites should not be neglected.