Social media society
Today, nearly everyone is on social media.
It wasn’t too long ago where it seemed like Facebook was the cool, hip way to chat with your friends and now it’s a place where your grandparents are leaving you a friend request.
The breakdown
Different age groups interact with social media channels in their own way. For instance older generations utilize Facebook but don’t bother with Snapchat. In order to break down social media behavior, Sprout Social conducted a survey of three generations of social media users.
They surveyed 1,000 people separated into Millennials (age 18-34), Generation X (age 34-45) and Baby Boomers (age 55+).
The survey results speak to what these age groups are responding to in terms of their online interaction needs.
For the most part, Baby Boomers and Generation Xers are slightly behind the times when it comes to the newest networks.
Therefore they have begun to take over Facebook and Millennials have moved on to Instagram and Snapchat.
No surprises here
Across the board, Facebook wins out as the most popular social network.
This should come as no surprise since it is the most established one.
People can almost use the term “Facebook” as interchangeable with social media in general.
According to the stats, Facebook is the favorite network of Generation X and Baby Boomers at 65% for both surveyed.
However, Millennials prefer Instagram over Facebook these days with 24% saying it’s their favorite site.
In addition, Snapchat is popular with Millennials but non-existent for the Baby Boomer generation. The least popular social network for all generations is Pinterest. It could be that they only cater to a niche market, or perhaps they’ve just lost steam in light of Instagram and Youtube.
Branding on social
Sprout Social also collected other types of data regarding how these age groups respond with brands on social media.
When it comes to following brands, both half of the Generation Xers and Millennials surveyed participate.
Baby Boomers generally do not bother with following brands. It could be that the later generations are more prone to online shopping. When it comes to brand behavior, the reasons varied among the age groups of why they would discontinue following a brand.
Everybody’s got issues
Baby Boomers don’t like spam, Generation Xers don’t want to be offended and Millennials are annoyed quicker than the others. Overall, the stats make one thing clear.
Regardless of the preferences, social media is a vital part of most people’s lives no matter what age they are.
#SocialMediaShakedown
