According to a new Consumer Pulse survey from Sprout Social, the way social media platforms are used is changing again, with big implications for brands.
New data shows that Instagram (65%) has overtaken Facebook (64%) as the number one platform among 2,059 consumers surveyed.
Notably, participants in the study included 1,009 U.S. consumers and 1,050 U.K. consumers who have at least one social media account and follow at least five brands on social media.
That means it's not a global sample. And because the US population (335 million) is almost five times larger than the UK's (68 million), the survey isn't a representative sample of either country. Plus, it focuses on consumers who follow at least five brands on social media, which skews the results.
However, when broken down by age group, there are significant differences in usage that marketers need to analyze and consider using in their social media campaigns.
For example, 519 participants were classified as Gen Z (ages 18-24), 757 as Millennials (ages 25-40), 502 as Gen X (ages 41-56), and 281 as Baby Boomers (ages 57-75).
The consumer survey was commissioned by Sprout Social and conducted online from 17th to 27th May 2024 by Cint.
Social media platform usage by age group
Segmented by age, it looks like this:
- Gen Z uses Instagram the most, followed by TikTok, Snapchat, and Facebook.
- Millennials use Instagram the most, followed by Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube.
- Gen Xers use Facebook the most, followed by Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.
- Baby Boomers use Facebook the most, followed by YouTube, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter).
It’s also worth noting that 45% of consumers surveyed have conducted a “social media detox” within the past six months, and 51% plan to do so within the next six months.
So it seems a significant percentage of “consumers” who follow at least five brands on social media need to take a break from “consuming” for a variety of reasons, including mental health, feeling overwhelmed, or wanting to reflect on their social media usage.
Sprout Social’s Q2 2024 Consumer Pulse Survey also found that:
- In the past six months, Gen Z has engaged most with Instagram Reels (83%), Instagram Stories (81%), and TikTok posts (78%). While TikTok's future in the U.S. is unclear, this segment says they will engage most with TikTok posts (75.5%), Instagram Reels (74%), and Instagram Stories (74%) in the next six months.
- Millennials have shown the most interest in Instagram Reels (77%), Instagram Stories (77%) and TikTok posts (68%) in the past six months. This generation predicts they will be most interested in Instagram Stories (75%), Instagram Stories (73%) and TikTok posts (66%) in the next six months.
- Gen Xers have shown the most interest in Facebook Video (67%), Instagram Reels (59%) and Instagram Stories (59%) in the past six months. This segment predicts they will be most interested in Facebook Video (59%), Instagram Stories (60%) and Instagram Reels (59%) in the next six months.
- Baby Boomers have shown the most interest in Facebook Video (61%), Facebook Live (41%), Instagram Reels (41%) and Instagram Stories (41%) in the past six months. This segment says they will be most interested in Facebook Video (67%), Facebook Live (47%), Instagram Reels (46%) and Instagram Stories (42%) in the next six months.
With YouTube Shorts now averaging more than 70 billion views per day, it may seem odd that the video format didn't feature in the findings above.
But as we've reported, the platform's recommendation algorithms show videos that match a particular user's viewing history and preferences.
In contrast, Sprout Social defines engagement as any interaction your brand has with your target audience on social media, including actions like clicking links, sharing content, commenting, and more that show how actively users are engaging with your brand's content.
Thus, a combination of sample bias and different key performance indicators (KPIs) explains this apparent discrepancy.
What forms of branded content do consumers find most entertaining?
According to Sprout Social's Q2 2024 Consumer Pulse survey:
- “Edutainment” – Teaching consumers about products and services in a fun way (65.5%)
- Posts using memes (40%)
- Serialized content (38%)
- One-off video skits (38%)
- Interactive content such as polls and stickers (34%)
And despite what marketers may have heard about the popularity of “lo-fi content” that’s intentionally crude, unpolished and authentic, the survey found that most consumers say production values influence whether they engage with a brand’s content.
Many consumers surveyed agree that artificial intelligence (AI) has contributed to the already staggering saturation of content on social media, and that the challenge of misinformation will only get worse in the future.
AI-generated content should be disclosed
Additionally, while the majority of consumers surveyed agree that AI-generated social content should be disclosed, they are divided on who should be responsible for this.
While previous data has shown that AI-generated content can be eye-catching and entertaining, new data suggests that it may also have a negative impact on consumer purchasing decisions.
Consumers are nearly split on whether the responsibility for disclosing AI-generated social content lies with the brand (33%) or the social network (29%). Only 6% of consumers believe AI-generated content does not need to be disclosed.
Additionally, 46% of consumers said they would be less likely to buy from a brand that posts AI-generated content on social media, while 31% were undecided.
Additionally, a new survey of 2,059 US and UK consumers found that:
- 83% of consumers agree that AI-generated content will become even more saturated with their social feeds than it is now.
- 80% agree that AI-generated content will increase misinformation on social media.
Consumers more likely to unfollow a brand
Finally, Sprout Social’s Q2 2024 Consumer Pulse survey found that 43% of consumers are likely to unfollow a brand because their content strategy is unoriginal (i.e., content has become repetitive or unoriginal).
Additionally, 42% of consumers are most likely to unfollow brands that collaborate with the “wrong” influencers (i.e., those who “partner with influencers who don’t align with their values”).
While posting frequency isn't a big deciding factor, it's worth noting that younger consumers are more likely to unfollow influencers for posting too little (17% of Gen Z, 10.5% of all consumers), compared to older consumers who are put off by too many posts (24% of Baby Boomers, 21% of Gen X, 16% of Millennials, 14% of Gen Z).
This trend also applies to unfollowing brands.
Alternatives to using demographic targeting
Many marketers believe that a person's age indicates the stage of their life they are at and what social roles and responsibilities they have. What generation they belong to can also reveal what historical events influenced their social outlook.
However, marketers should also read What the Pew Research Center Reports About Future Generations.
He writes as follows:
“A typical generation spans 15 to 18 years. As many critics of generational studies point out, there is great diversity in thoughts, experiences, and behaviors within generations.”
What are the alternatives to using demographic groups for targeting?
Well, that's a good topic for another day and another column, but suffice to say, the options are endless.
Disclaimer: All statistics above are from gated Sprout Social reports unless otherwise indicated in the link.
Additional resources:
Featured Image: Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock
