Consumer Usage Of Social Media Platforms Is Shifting (Again) via @sejournal, @gregjarboe

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According to a caller Consumer Pulse survey from Sprout Social, usage of social media platforms is shifting again – successful ways that volition importantly interaction brands.

According to the caller data, Instagram (65%) has conscionable passed Facebook (64%) arsenic the No. 1 level among the 2,059 consumers surveyed.

It’s worthy noting that the participants of this survey included 1,009 US consumers and 1,050 UK consumers who person astatine slightest 1 societal media relationship and travel astatine slightest 5 brands connected societal media.

So, this isn’t a planetary sample. And since the US colonisation (335 million) is astir 5 times larger than the UK colonisation (68 million), the survey isn’t a typical illustration of either country. Plus, focusing connected consumers who travel astatine slightest 5 brands connected societal media skews the results, too.

Nevertheless, erstwhile it’s breached down by property group, determination are important differences successful usage that marketers volition privation to analyse and see utilizing successful their social media campaigns.

For example, 519 participants were classified arsenic Gen Z (18-24), 757 were Millennials (25-40), 502 respondents were Gen X (41-56 years old), and 281 were Baby Boomers (57-75 years old).

The user survey was conducted online by Cint connected behalf of Sprout Social from May 17-27, 2024.

Usage Of Social Media Platforms By Age Group

Segmenting by property shows:

Gen Z uses Instagram astir frequently, followed by TikTok, Snapchat, and Facebook.
Millennials usage Instagram astir frequently, followed by Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube.
Gen X uses Facebook astir frequently, followed by Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.
Baby Boomers usage Facebook astir frequently, followed by YouTube, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter).

It’s besides worthy noting that 45% of the consumers surveyed person taken a “social media detox” successful the past six months, and 51% program to successful the adjacent six months.

So, it appears that a important percent of the “consumers” who travel astatine slightest 5 brands connected societal media request to instrumentality impermanent breaks from “consuming” for a assortment of reasons, including intelligence health, feeling overwhelmed, oregon wanting to bespeak connected their societal media usage.

The Sprout Social Q2 2024 Consumer Pulse survey besides found:

Gen Z has been astir engaged with Instagram Reels (83%), Instagram Stories (81%), and TikTok posts (78%) implicit the past six months. Despite TikTok’s uncertain aboriginal successful the US, this conception says it volition beryllium astir engaged with TikTok posts (75.5%), Instagram Reels (74%), and Instagram Stories (74%) implicit the adjacent six months.
Millennials person been astir engaged with Instagram Reels (77%), Instagram Stories (77%), and TikTok posts (68%) successful the past six months. This conception says they’ll beryllium astir engaged with Instagram Stories (75%), Instagram Stories (73%), and TikTok posts (66%) implicit the adjacent six months.
Gen X has been astir engaged with Facebook videos (67%), Instagram Reels (59%), and Instagram Stories (59%) implicit the past six months. This conception says it volition beryllium astir engaged with Facebook videos (59%), Instagram Stories (60%), and Instagram Reels (59%) implicit the adjacent six months.
Baby Boomers person been astir engaged with Facebook videos (61%), Facebook Live (41%), Instagram Reels (41%, and Instagram Stories (41%) implicit the past six months. This conception says they’ll beryllium astir engaged with Facebook video (67%), Facebook Live (47%), Instagram Reels (46%), and Instagram Stories (42%) implicit the adjacent six months.

With YouTube Shorts present averaging implicit 70 cardinal regular views, it whitethorn look unusual that this video format didn’t look successful the survey findings above.

But, arsenic we reported, the platform’s proposal algorithm shows videos that align with that circumstantial user’s watching past and preferences.

In contrast, Sprout Social defines engagement arsenic immoderate enactment betwixt a marque and its people assemblage connected societal media. This includes actions that amusement however actively progressive an assemblage is with a brand’s content, specified arsenic clicking connected links, sharing content, oregon commenting.

So, the skew successful the illustration combined with antithetic cardinal show indicators (KPIs) explains this evident discrepancy.

The Formats Of Brand Content That Consumers Find Most Entertaining

According to the Sprout Social Q2 2024 Consumer Pulse survey, they are:

“Edutainment,” which educates consumers astir a merchandise oregon work successful a amusive mode (65.5%).
Posts utilizing memes (40%).
Serialized contented (38%).
One-off video skits (38%).
Interactive contented similar polls and stickers (34%).

And contempt what marketers whitethorn person heard astir the popularity of “lo-fi content” that’s intentionally rough, unpolished, and authentic, the survey recovered that astir consumers accidental that accumulation worth does interaction whether they prosecute with a brand’s content.

Many consumers surveyed hold that artificial quality (AI) is contributing to the already unthinkable saturation of contented connected societal media and volition exacerbate the challenges of misinformation going forward.

AI-Generated Content Should Be Disclosed

In addition, astir consumers surveyed hold that AI-generated societal contented needs to beryllium disclosed – but they’re somewhat divided connected who bears the work for doing that.

Despite erstwhile information showing that AI-generated content tin beryllium eye-catching oregon entertaining, the caller information finds that it whitethorn negatively interaction user buying decisions.

Consumers are intimately divided connected believing brands (33%) oregon societal networks (29%) are liable for disclosing erstwhile AI generates societal content. Only 6% deliberation AI-generated contented doesn’t person to beryllium disclosed.

And 46% of consumers are little apt to bargain from a marque that posts AI-generated contented connected social, portion 31% are neither much nor little likely.

Plus, the caller survey of 2,059 consumers successful the US and UK found:

83% of user hold that AI-generated contented volition marque their societal feeds much saturated than they already are.
80% hold that AI-generated contented volition adhd to misinformation connected societal media.

Consumers Most Likely To Unfollow Brands

Finally, the Sprout Social Q2 2024 Consumer Pulse survey recovered that 43% of consumers are astir apt to unfollow brands for having an unoriginal contented strategy (i.e., their contented has go repetitive oregon unoriginal).

And 42% of consumers are astir apt to unfollow brands for collaborating with the “wrong” influencer (i.e., “they spouse with influencers that don’t align with my values”).

While posting frequence isn’t a important deal-breaker, it’s worthy noting that younger consumers are much apt to unfollow influencers for posting excessively small (17% Gen Z vs. 10.5% each consumers). In comparison, older consumers are much enactment disconnected by posting excessively overmuch (24% Baby Boomers, 21% Gen X, 16% Millennials, and 14% Gen Z).

This inclination holds existent for unfollowing brands arsenic well.

The Alternatives To Using Demographics For Targeting

Many marketers judge that a person’s property tells america wherever they autumn successful the beingness span and indicates what societal roles and responsibilities they whitethorn have. Which procreation they beryllium to whitethorn besides archer america what events successful past influenced their societal thinking.

However, marketers should besides work “How Pew Research Center volition study connected generations moving forward.”

It notes:

“A emblematic procreation spans 15 to 18 years. As galore critics of generational probe constituent out, determination is large diverseness of thought, experience, and behaviour wrong generations.”

What are the alternatives to utilizing demographic groups for targeting?

Well, that’s a bully taxable for different file connected different day. But let’s conscionable accidental that determination are much options than you tin shingle a instrumentality at.

Disclaimer: All statistic supra are from a gated Sprout Social report, unless different indicated by a link.

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