Get Influenced: Analyzing The Top Social Media Platforms For Each Generation

Casey Wright

April 2023

Social media has become an integral part of our daily lives. It has changed the way we communicate, share information, and interact with each other. There are various social media platforms available today, and each platform has its own unique features and target audience. In this blog, we will explore which social media platforms are used most by each generation and the reasons behind their influence.

Generation Z (born between 1997-2012)

Generation Z is the youngest generation and the most tech-savvy. They have grown up with technology and have a strong presence on social media. According to a survey conducted by Pew Research Center, the top social media platforms used by Generation Z are:

  1. TikTok - TikTok is a short-form video sharing app that allows users to create and share 15-second videos that are often accompanied by music. This format is particularly appealing to Generation Z, who have grown up with short attention spans and a preference for quick and easily digestible content. TikTok's algorithm is designed to show users content that is relevant to their interests. This means that users are constantly exposed to new and interesting content, which keeps them engaged and coming back for more. TikTok has a strong sense of community. Users can interact with each other through likes, comments, and shares, and there are many popular challenges and trends that users can participate in. 

This sense of community and belonging is particularly important to Generation Z, who are known for their social consciousness and desire to connect with others. Overall, TikTok's unique format, personalized content, sense of community, and emphasis on creativity and self-expression makes it the most influential platform for this young and vocal generation.

  1. Instagram - Instagram is a photo and video sharing app that allows users to share pictures and videos of their daily lives. This format is particularly appealing to Generation Z, who are known for their love of visual content and their desire to share their experiences with others. Instagram has a strong emphasis on aesthetics and creativity. Users can use a range of filters, editing tools, and hashtags to create unique and visually appealing content. This allows Generation Z to express themselves in new and exciting ways and to showcase their talents and creativity to a wider audience. 

The platform is constantly evolving and introducing new features and trends that allow Generation Z to stay up-to-date with social culture and to express themselves in new and exciting ways. Overall, Instagram's focus on visual content, creativity, community, dynamic features, and constant innovation has kept Gen Z engaged for over a decade.

Generation Y (born between 1981-1996)

Generation Y, also known as millennials, grew up during the rise of the internet and social media. They are comfortable with technology and are heavy users of social media. According to a survey conducted by Pew Research Center, the top social media platforms used by Generation Y are:

  1. Facebook - Facebook was the first major social media platform that many millennials used and it has become a part of their daily lives. Many millennials have been using Facebook for over a decade, and it has become a way to stay in touch with friends and family members who are spread out across the country or the world. 

The platform's wide range of features, including messaging, groups, events, and pages allows millennials to connect with others who share their interests and to stay up-to-date with the latest news and events in their communities. Overall, Facebook's longevity, wide range of features, strong sense of community, emphasis on privacy and security, and diverse content has made it a hugely popular platform among millennials.

  1. Twitter - Twitter is a platform that allows users to express their thoughts and ideas in short, concise messages called tweets. This format is particularly appealing to millennials, who are known for their ability to communicate quickly and efficiently. Users can interact with each other through retweets, likes, and replies, and there are many popular hashtags and trends that users can participate in. 

The platform is widely used by journalists, politicians, and celebrities which has given the generation a way to digest local and world news beyond the traditional morning newspaper. Overall, Twitter's focus on concise messaging, community, real-time news and events, and diverse content makes it the perfect platform for Millennials.

Generation X (born between 1965-1980)

Generation X grew up during a time of rapid technological change. They are comfortable with technology but are not as heavily reliant on social media as younger generations. According to a survey conducted by Pew Research Center, the top social media platforms used by Generation X are:

  1. Facebook - Many Gen Xers use Facebook to connect with old friends and classmates, as well as to participate in discussions and debates about topics that are important to them. This sense of community and belonging is particularly important to Gen Xers, who are often seeking to establish and maintain relationships.
  1. LinkedIn - LinkedIn is a platform that is specifically designed for professional networking. This is particularly important to Gen Xers, who are often in their peak career-building years and may be seeking new job opportunities, networking contacts, or industry insights. The platform has a strong emphasis on professionalism. 

Users are encouraged to create detailed profiles that highlight their education, work experience, and professional achievements. This allows Gen Xers to showcase their skills and expertise to potential employers or business partners. Overall, LinkedIn's focus on professional networking, emphasis on professionalism, wide range of features, strong sense of community, and educational content has made it a hit with Generation X.

  1. Pinterest - Pinterest is a platform that allows users to discover and save inspiration and ideas for a wide range of topics, including recipes, home decor, fashion, and travel. This is particularly appealing to Gen Xers, who are often seeking inspiration and new ideas for their personal lives and interests. 

The platform's highly visual and user-friendly interface allows users to easily create boards and save or organize pins in a way that is easy to navigate and share with others. Many Gen Xers use Pinterest to connect with others who share their interests and to discover new content through social sharing and collaboration. Overall, Pinterest's focus on inspiration and ideas, user-friendly interface, sense of community, diverse content, and emphasis on personalization has found its place in this generation of users.

Baby Boomers (born between 1946-1964)

Baby Boomers grew up during a time when technology was not as prevalent as it is today. They are not as comfortable with technology as younger generations, but they are increasingly using social media to stay in touch with family and friends. According to a survey conducted by Pew Research Center, the top social media platforms used by Baby Boomers are:

  1. Facebook - Facebook is one of the longest standing social media platforms, which has allowed time for older generations such as Boomers to learn and adapt with the platform more than others.  Boomers are often in a phase of life where their children have moved away from home or have friends or family members who live in different parts of the country of the world so being able to post life updates and stay connected has proven to be extremely beneficial to this generation of users. This sense of community and belonging is particularly important to Boomers, who may be seeking to establish new social connections as they enter retirement.
  1. YouTube - YouTube is a platform that offers a wide range of content, including music, news, educational videos, and entertainment. Boomers appreciate the diversity of content and the ability to explore new topics and interests. 

With the platform's user-friendly interface and the ability to easily search for educational content, Boomers enjoy taking advantage of lifelong learning content such as wealth resources, tutorials, and topic based podcasts. Overall, YouTube's diverse range of content, user-friendly interface, educational resources, sense of community, and personalization features have made it a hugely popular platform amongst Boomers.

Understanding the platforms your target audience uses is crucial for the success of your marketing campaigns. By knowing where your audience spends their time online, you can tailor your messaging, content, and advertising efforts to resonate with them. Each platform has its unique features, audience demographics, and communication styles. Therefore, adapting your strategy to match each platform's characteristics will help you engage your target audience and build a strong online presence. 

Additionally, understanding the platforms your audience uses will allow you to optimize your advertising budget and reach the right people at the right time. Overall, knowing your target audience's preferred platforms will help you create more relevant and effective campaigns that drive engagement, conversions, and brand loyalty.

Want us to help you or your business thrive on social media?

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Gift Guide for Social Media Lovers

Let me guess. You have a friend that is OBSESSED with social media. They ALWAYS have to be on their phone and constantly take pictures wherever you go because if it's not on instagram, it didn't happen. Or maybe they are persistently on the lookout for the best lighting (SPOILER ALERT: It's golden hour!)

While it may seem difficult to find the perfect gift for your aspiring influencer, never fear, because we have your shopping list ready to go!

Here are some of the perfect gifts for the social media #obsessed person in your life!

Pocket-Sized Smartphone Printer 

Price: $79.00

Connect the Smartphone Printer to your phone via Bluetooth and you can print your latest ˜grammable moments within seconds after you've taken the photo. The App allows you to print and share photos with family & friends and allows you to add fun frames & filters to your photos.

Buy it here.

PopSockets 

Price: $9.99

PopSockets are some of the best and most popular phone grips out there. It keeps your phone stable and steady, so you can take all the photos and videos you need without it slipping out of my hands. Not to mention the hundreds of designs to choose from. This gift is both useful and adds personality to your digital device.

Buy it here.

DJI Phone Stabilizer

Price: $129.00

Say goodbye to shaky footage and blurry photos with this stabilizing gimbal! While the price tag might be a little high, this intelligent gimbal is lightweight, compact and worth every penny. Simply unfold to start filming smooth dynamic footage. This device has dozens of intelligent features at your fingertips, including ShotGuides to help capture the scenario you're in or creative features like Timelapse. Whether you're a vlogger or a mom watching her kids soccer game, this gift is a game changer!

Buy it here.

Social Media Cookie Cutter Set 

$7.20

Turn your desserts into the next social media sensation! These adorable cookie cutters are the perfect gift for lovers of baking and social media. 

Buy it here.

Fujifilm instax mini

$145.95

Looking for a nostalgic way to capture memories? This adorable Polaroid-like camera takes pictures of you and your friends and immediately prints them out. Within 5 minutes you'll have a stack of memories just waiting to be added to your scrapbook or bedroom wall.

Buy it here.

#HASHTAGIT Party Game 

$29.99

This game is guaranteed to be a hit for any social media OBSESSED person in your life. #HashtagIt is the hilarious party game of tagging photos with outrageous, quirky (and sometimes inappropriate!) hashtags! Each round begins with a completely ridiculous photo. Play the best #HashtagIt caption from the cards in your hand. Be voted the best Hashtag and win the Photo. We recommend gifting this one to the 18+ people in your life!

Buy it here.

Portable Charger 

$28.79 

How many times have you been out in the world and could not find a place to charge your phone? How many times has your battery died because of it? This battery pack is the perfect gift for anyone and an absolute necessity for those who are constantly on their phone.

Buy it here.

Ring Light

$59.99

Every social media star knows that the most important thing in the world for a perfect TikTok or selfie is great lighting, but depending on where you live or what time of day you're filming, finding the ideal lighting can be really difficult. Having a ring light with multiple types of lighting is the perfect man-made solution for fighting mother nature.

Buy it here.

Interested in growing your business through influencer marketing? Connect with us by sending a message below! 

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How To Use Hashtags on Facebook

Since its creation, the hashtag has become a centerpiece of social media. Hashtags allow your posts to be searchable and more visible, so they should be a staple in your social media strategy. You may already know how to use them on Instagram and Twitter, but you might be asking: what's the deal with hashtags on Facebook? We've got answers.

#SocialListening

Before you can know how to use hashtags in your own Facebook posts, you should learn from the best. Follow popular pages and businesses to learn how they are using hashtags. You can also analyze your competitors' hashtags to see what they use and when and why they use them. Lastly, take a look at some of your followers' posts to get a sense of what they talk about, and then you can choose tags for your own posts that target your audience's interests.

#KeepItBranded

Give your posts an extra layer of branding by using one or two original hashtags consistently. For example, a branded hashtag for Random could be #TheRandomBlog. Including a tag unique to your business in your Facebook post leaves the audience with a sense of who you are and an opportunity to check out the other posts you've made with the same hashtag.

#LessIsMore

You've probably seen plenty of Facebook posts that are so loaded with hashtags you can barely make sense of what the user is trying to say. Basically, avoid doing that. On Facebook, fewer hashtags equals more engagement. Try to limit your tags to no more than three per post.

Source: sproutsocial.com

#BalanceItOut

When including multiple hashtags in a post, balance the popularity of the tags. Use a hashtag generator like this one from Inflact to find hashtags by keyword, photo, or URL and see how often they're used. Choose a mix of tags that are popular (in the millions), average (100k-500k), and rare (less than 100k). Use hashtags related to your industry and the audience you are trying to reach.

#BeSpecific

Be sure to use hashtags that are specific to the topic of your post, your business or industry, and the audience you are targeting. If your tags are popular but not relevant, your post might be more visible but it won't reach your target audience. If your tags are too obscure, nobody will be searching for them. Finding the delicate balance between relevance and specificity might take some practice, but the result is worth it. Check out some more hashtag tips below.

#ShortAndSweet

Another part of choosing and creating hashtags that takes practice is the length. If your tag is too wordy, it will be difficult for users to read. Here's an example of what not to do: #internationaltravelerandphotographer. Long hashtags like this can often be broken down into smaller ones that will generate more engagement: #international #travel #photographer. To make tags even easier to read, you can capitalize the first letter of each word in the hashtag.

If you're ready to start leveraging hashtags for your brand, contact us today to see how our team can help you build a custom hashtag strategy for your business.

What Facebook's New Audio Features Mean for Podcasters

via Facebook

While intimate entertainment experiences in their own right, podcasts inherently lack a level of audience interactivity and social connectivity. Facebook's Live Audio Rooms and podcast integrations offer a way to change that. 

Designed as a Clubhouse competitor, Facebook's new Audio Rooms feature circular profile pictures, active speaker highlights, reactions, and a virtual front row reserved for paying audience members. Hosts have the ability to pre-select fellow speakers or bring members of the audience up to the panel. Audio Rooms incorporate live captions, as well as a hand-raise function. Users can join active Audio Rooms or set reminders for scheduled events, similar to the pre-established webinar format. Capitalizing on the new wave of social media activism, Live Audio Room organizers have the ability to feature a specific donation cause and display a progress bar throughout the event.

Unlike Clubhouse, whose brand centers around exclusivity and access codes, Facebook Live Audio Rooms will soon be available to all Facebook users - 2.85 billion active monthly users at the time of publishing. That's a big pool of potential audience members.

Traditional podcasts are planned, recorded, and edited in advance. Live audio events take away that buffer”which can be good or bad, depending on your perspective”and open up space for a potentially more authentic experience for your audience. Live audio events enable speakers to engage an audience, without the extra pressure of being on camera. We're on Zoom long enough, there is no need to film ourselves more. 

Podcasters can take advantage of Live Audio Rooms to strike up a conversation with their guests and audience about a recent episode, topics that didn't make the final cut, current events, or even use the function as a live podcast recording. 

However, if you prefer to stick with pre-recorded audio content, Facebook offers Soundbites and a new podcast integration. Soundbites are marketed as short-form, creative audio clips for capturing anecdotes, jokes, moments of inspiration, poems, and many other things we haven't yet imagined. Users will be able to record, edit, and publish short audio clips, all in-app. Soundbites is currently under development and will be released later this year. 

Facebook's podcast integration is potentially the most relevant update for current podcasters. Podcasts will be streamed through Facebook via RSS feed, allowing users to discover, interact with, and listen to podcasts and creators, all without leaving the Facebook app. This streaming method enables podcasters to continue individually tracking listening metrics. According to Facebook's Podcast Terms of Service, by using Facebook's podcast service, creators agree to the caching and production of derivative works. One can assume this refers to Facebook-generated promotional content and Soundbites, however this is left unclear. 

So what does this mean for podcasters? All these new services and features offer a more direct way for audio to become a social experience. As Audio Rooms, Soundbites, and podcasts will be curated and highlighted in users' existing feeds, it will be easier than ever for Facebook users to discover and interact with new audio content. 

The live aspect of audio rooms means speakers will receive immediate feedback on their content. This can be used as an experimental and/or rehearsal space. Podcasters can test out new formats, topics, and guests, all from the comfort of the Facebook app. Audio Rooms can also be a way of sharing current, well-performing content in new, accessible ways. 

Clubhouse and other podcast apps are sometimes overwhelming for users, who exit before finding the right audio experience for them. Podcasters can harness the power of Facebook's algorithm first-hand to reach audiences on one of the largest social networks in the world. Marketing and outreach will still be important, but it can be done in-app, rather than through extraneous third-party methods. 

Not all podcast listeners use Facebook and not all Facebook users listen to podcasts. Maximize your reach by interacting and creating for both spaces. Facebook's new audio features and functions will be rolled out to established creators and groups, with their general user base coming soon. 

Here at Random, we push our creative and comfort zones to create the best content we can. And so can you. Try out Facebook's new audio features for your podcast to tap into new levels of social and community interaction. 

But don't do it all alone. Are you ready for some podcast support? Reach us at hello@thatrandomagency.com

What You Need to Know About Facebook Shops

Calling all business owners! If you sell a physical product, there's never been a better time to revisit your Facebook strategy. Shopping on FB/IG has been around since 2017, but the new Facebook Shops online store is a whole new level. Facebook Shops is a single online store that lets customers purchase your products right on Facebook or Instagram without visiting your website. For the customer, this means no more app switching or re-entering credit card numbers when you see something fun on IG Stories. 

THE DETAILS

Facebook Shops are free and easy to create. When you set up your shop, it will appear on your Facebook and Instagram accounts and will soon be available on Messenger and WhatsApp. Products in Facebook Shops will be featured across FB and IG, including a new dedicated shopping tab on Instagram and within Explore. 

If you have an online store through Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, Channel Advisor, CedCommerce, Cafe24, Tienda Nube , or Feedonomics, you will be able to import your entire catalog of products into Facebook Shops easily. Facebook Shops will sync with your current site so you can easily keep track of sales and inventory. 

FEATURES COMING SOON:

WHAT IT ALL MEANS FOR YOU:

Facebook Shops won't replace websites for most small businesses; however, we predict that conversion rates for eCommerce ads and overall sales numbers will increase for companies that use this new feature.

If you are a small business that wants to try eCommerce but doesn't have the budget or resources to integrate eCommerce into your existing website, or if you don't have a website at all, Facebook Shops can be a great option. 

Overall, Facebook Shops removes friction from the clunky mobile shopping experience and will likely result in more spontaneous purchases. How many times have you changed your mind about a random purchase from an IG ad because you didn't want to get up off the couch and grab your wallet? For me, it's more times than I'd like to admit. 

Facebook Shops is also Facebook's latest move to keep people on the platform, for longer. With the pixel losing relevance, this is a way for Facebook to prove that their platform truly works to drive sales. 

Who knows? Maybe they will get rid of outside shopping links all together in the coming years. 

RANDOM RECOMMENDATION:

If you have an online business, take advantage of this new feature, but don't abandon your website altogether. Remember: the data you collect on your website is yours forever. Facebook owns all of the data and content on its site and can shut down features anytime.