Millennials Use Social Media Less and Less. How to Adjust Your Marketing Accordingly

For years now, social media has been one of the primary ways to introduce your brand to younger audiences. Between Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat, there were a lot of opportunities to put your content in the hands of millennials.

While social media is still popular and a valid way to market to a new audience, recent studies show that millennials are using it less and less. Some are changing the social media platforms that they use. Some are walking away completely. 

The reasons for leaving social media platforms behind vary. Some cite mental health reasons, privacy concerns, or just a general irritation with the rants and political posts. No matter the reason, the bottom line is that usage is decreasing in millennials.

With the decline in usage comes a necessary change in marketing tactics. Even though it’s been effective so far, new tactics will now need to supplement your old social media marketing strategies.

According to a study from Edison Research, overall social media use is down, regardless of the age group. But, millennials and the generation following are showing the most change between 2017-2019. This study defines this group as age 12-34.

Among all users aged 12 and up, Facebook usage is down 6% in the past two years. 6% may sound like a small statistic, but when you consider that that number accounts for 15 million people, it doesn’t sound so small anymore. 

Of the people still using Facebook, older users are remaining fairly consistent, dropping or increasing by 3% or 4% from year to year. However, users age 12-34 have dropped 17%, from an estimated 82 million users to 65 million users between 2017 and today.

Many millennials have left Facebook simply because they are using other social media platforms like TikTok. As millennials start to leave, it creates somewhat of a domino effect. Users don’t want to stay on the platform when all of their friends are leaving to use another one.

In the time that Facebook has decreased in millennial users, Instagram users have increased 2% and Snapchat has remained consistent. However, every other popular social media platform has decreased in users of this age range:

• Twitter users decreased by 7%
• Pinterest users decreased by 5%
• LinkedIn users decreased by 2%

Despite these decreases, over half the population ages 12 and up still use social media on a regular basis. However, it seems that it may continue to decrease in popularity. Throwing out your social media marketing strategy already may not be the best choice, but it’s certainly clear that it can no longer be your main form of marketing to millennials.

So, what fresh marketing strategies can you use to adapt during this shift? Move away from social media and online ads. According to Business Wire, 82% of Americans ignore online ads. Spending your time and money on this marketing tactic is a waste. Instead, move toward storytelling, showing expertise, and guest posting to capture this audience.

Let’s look at each strategy more closely:

 

• Storytelling

 

Tell a story with your business, product, or service. Telling a story will help you create an emotional connection with your audience. Funny stories or stories that will tug at the heartstrings are good options to help you stand out to the millennial audience.

Millennials don’t just want a quality product anymore. They want a business that gives back, solves a larger problem, or offers something unique. 

Stories will also keep your audience engaged for a longer period of time. They may be willing to watch a video or read a longer post if they feel like they are reading a compelling story instead of a sales pitch.

 

• Showing Expertise

 

According to Digital Authority, educating your audience should be a top priority in your marketing strategy. Focusing on education not only introduces your product or service to your audience but it also shows that you want to create content that is valuable to them.

By creating content that shares your expertise and knowledge to answer common questions from your audience, you tell customers that they are your priority. Their needs come before sales and leads.

In showing your expertise, you will also build a reputation as an authority in your field. millennials value brand authority and want to support businesses that they can trust.

 

• Guest Posting

 

Another way to build brand authority is to guest post on niche blogs. This will help build trust in your brand for two reasons: another business/website is recognizing that your opinion is valuable, and you have an opportunity to show your expertise in even the most obscure areas of your industry.

Guests posts make your business look good and they help you reach a whole new audience that may not have heard of you before. Guest posting on blogs that already have a good following in their niche will give you an opportunity to introduce your business.

In being featured as an expert on this blog, you can engage directly with that audience in an informative way without feeling it feeling like a sale.

These tactics are some of the most effective, most popular new tactics to try now that online ads and social media marketing yield lower results. If you are not investing any time and attention into these tactics, now is the time to start.

With social media engagement decreasing year after year,  the way that we reach out to millennials needs to change. They are hyper aware of a sales pitch and will not respond to the same old marketing strategies. 

To keep your business relevant during this transition, it’s important that you begin to adjust your marketing strategy to promote your business in a way that millennials will respond to. In doing so, you’ll be primed and ready for the next generation of customers.