It's no secret that we live in a digital world. This has become even more obvious over the past few months as businesses and consumers alike have transitioned to a more virtual way of life. While it has always been important for your business to be visible on social media, it has become imperative during these times of social distancing.
A recent survey of 1000 consumers and 500 businesses showcased the influential role that social media plays in consumers' buying decisions. Interestingly, the report showed a wide variance in social media platform preference among different generations. This is why it is so important to make sure you're optimizing your social media presence on the platform your target audience uses. The flashiest TikTok video is not likely to reach your Baby Boomer customer.
Here's how the report broke out the different generations:
Gen Z - born between 1995-2015
Millennial - born between 1980-1994
Gen X - born between 1965-1979
Baby Boomer - born between 1944-1964
The survey found that, while all generations spend time on social media, millennials specifically are heavily influenced to make a purchase decision because of a brand's social media presence. Baby boomers are also influenced on social media, but they prefer video content. In fact, 72% of baby boomers said video was most helpful to them when making a purchase decision online.
Here is how the report broke out the top social platforms by generation:
Gen Z - YouTube, Instagram Feed, Instagram Stories, Snapchat
Millennial - YouTube, Facebook Feed, Facebook Stories
Gen X - YouTube, Facebook Feed, Facebook Stories
Baby Boomer - YouTube, Facebook Feed
Notice anything in common among these results? YouTube is heavily used by all four groups to better learn about a brand or product. Not only did these groups report a preference to watching video content, but they said it made them trust a brand more.
So what can you take away from these findings? Before you can effectively target an audience on social media, you have to know where to find them. Once you've narrowed down which platforms make the most sense for your brand, create quality content that's tailored to those platforms. Creating memorable content that is catered to your audience's platform of choice is key to reaching them where they're browsing and purchasing online.
