Social Media Habits Revealed For Each Generation

Author: Joe Martin, Date: 2017-03-03

The latest social media market research highlights the importance of understanding why each generation uses the various platforms.

Once the first advertisement and business profile were allowed on social media sites, the various platforms became marketing playgrounds as marketers consistently tried to reach consumers on a daily basis. It is no secret that the Millennial market was the first demographic to jump onto the social media bandwagon, and thus became the prime marketing target. It also isn’t a secret that there are more millennials than any other age bracket within numerous countries. But what does this all mean for social media marketing?

For far too long marketers have been targeting the millennial generation on social media platforms without paying close attention to what the numbers were actually saying. Given the fact that the millennial generation encompasses individuals born from 1982 – 2004, the latest social media data reveals that multiple consumer groups should be created out of the millennial audience. This revelation comes after the close analysis of the variations in social media usage amongst generations as well as different age groups.

Why Does Each Generation Use Social Media?

The latest social media studies reveal that Facebook continues to be the most popular platform across generations. However, Facebook is not as dominant in the millennial generation, which typically relies on Instagram and Snapchat on a daily basis. Generally speaking, Snapchat seems to be even more heavily favored by the youngest millennials. In direct contrast, the older age groups have been shown to prefer YouTube as their social media platform of choice.

Rather than just creating a presence on social media, marketers should use the following statistics to help fine-tune their offers for each generation.

• 38 percent of millennials are more likely to follow brands purely for entertainment value, while 42 percent of millennials are more likely to develop brands to receive information. These statistics reveal the importance of creating advertisements and posts that are simultaneously entertaining and informative, so that they capture the attention of millennials, encourage them to remain loyal followers, and eventually entice them to buy products or services.
• 41 percent of Generation Xers are interested in contests, while 58 percent are interested in deals and promotions. Through these insights, marketers can create social media posts that encourage active participation in games, while also encouraging participants to share their results with others to increase the brand’s digital reach.
• 60 percent of Baby Boomers are interested in using social media to find deals and promotions, while 53 percent are interested in finding out product information via social media channels. Rather than only running promotions to attract the attention of Baby Boomers, marketers should create quality posts that actively display product information in addition to any current deals.

The moral of the story is clear, by understanding why different generations are using social media, marketers can more easily adjust their offerings to better connect with each generation. For customized social media insights, and valuable information on how to use technology to help you reach your target consumer audiences, contact Compunet InfoTech located in Vancouver via info@compunet.ca or (604) 986-8170 .