11 Social Media Marketing Trends with Millennials and Gen Z

social media marketing trends

What is the most popular social media platform?

Are you looking to focus on the latest social media marketing trends? Do you want to appeal to the millennial audiences more?

In the United States, Facebook was REALLY the first successful platform after Myspace died out (thanks for the idea, Tom) and remains to be the biggest.

69% of American adults still use Facebook. Among these adults, around three-quarters of them visit the site at least once a day.

Now its just a social media app for adults. (50 and up). However, Facebook isn’t the only social media site businesses are taking advantage of.

There’s also the rise TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest, YouTube Shorts, Reddit, etc.

Below is a list of social media platforms and trends to form your marketing campaign around.

1. User-Generated Content

Young millennials are more outspoken compared to older, more conforming generations.

User-generated content is the best way to allow them to express their openness.

This way, you get advertisers for free and they get to fulfill their need to share their opinions on any social networking site. 

You can host contests on Pinterest or Instagram as a start.

Live Audio Rooms and Podcasts!

This not only encourages followers to promote your brand but they also get to showcase UGC to the public too.

This builds a personal relationship between like minded people that like your company and the your products or services.

2. AI-Powered Customer Service

Millennials value speed and efficiency more than previous generations. Let’s take a look at bounce rate % for an example.

The average bounce rate for pages loading within 2 seconds is 9%​.

As soon as the page load time surpasses 5 seconds, bounce rate has increased to 38%.

If your page takes around 7 seconds to load there is high chance you will lose more than half (53%) your customers.

An employee in customer services could misunderstand or take long to answer queries.

This is why more millennials and GenZ have a positive reaction to chatbots.

That said, make sure your chatbots can address the majority of issues.

Take time to get on Reddit and research niche questions so you can add these to the general solutions your chatbot can answer.

3. Personalized Advertising

Personalization adds to the customer experience by giving clients what they’re looking for.

Using retargeting paid advertising methods to follow your clients’ history searches and then show relevant ads is what’s key for top of the funnel brand awareness.

After all, who doesn’t want to feel that they’re receiving the special treatment?

Note that there is a downside to the personalization of advertising.

The dichotomy with personalization makes users feel special but also encroached.

Be careful with how you handle their data.

4. The Disappearing Content

Disappearing short form video content is a social media innovation millennials are embracing.

Snapchat began the trend and was later followed by Facebook and Instagram.

The disappearing content flourished because of its “did you see the latest story?” factor. 

Be smart with your social media marketing strategy.

Use this type of content to show your audiences a day behind-the-scenes or new stock.

Or, allow them to access exclusive promo codes or sales through links on this content. 

5. More on Video Content

social media trends to watch videos are what young people like most.

One of the benefits of social media platforms is that they allow for easy social audio uploads.

Not only are they a more visual form of giving information, but you can also have fun with things like sound effects.

Speaking of videos, live content is one of the biggest trends in social media marketing too.

Millennials like this because it matches their need for quick updates and interactivity.

Going live shows authenticity and, in turn, builds trust and loyalty. 

6. Organic Reach

Newer algorithms that promote organic influences in social media sites are trending big.

These algorithms allow users to see more content from their friends and family, and less content from brands.

This change has generated genuine interest and consumer needs among millennials.

7. Influencer Marketing

In influencer marketing, micro influencers are creating content by building a relationship with them.

They begin establishing a connection with their audiences by being relatable to them.

If you want to connect with millennials, get an influencer to help you with a social media strategy.

According to a study, over 70% of social media users are in the 18-29 age range.

Younger audiences are more impressionable and are next in line for the workforce.

An influencer’s being more informed of online trends is why many social media influencers cater to them too.

8. Support a Cause

Who says you can’t use one’s social values to build your brand?

An impressive 73% of millennials prefer brands that practice socially-responsible marketing.

If you’re a marketer, support a cause; there isn’t much to lose when you do.

Fortunately, there are a multitude of options.

You can set aside a percentage of donations towards children who can’t afford education, to a hospital, or to support the military.

9. Humorous Ads

Who wouldn’t feel a partiality towards brands that can create funny ads?

Clever companies build rapport with potential clients through clever, creative, and humorous ads.

They can make use of social media slang, witty gags, or even modern slapstick.

Don’t know where to start?

Some brands that used humor well include M&M’s, Bud Light, Old Spice, and Nintendo.

They all feature jokes or humorous situations in their ads.

10. Viral Trends

From memes to Tik-Tok clips, millennials are enjoying every fleeting one.

It’s quite astonishing how random and short-lived they are.

If you’re looking for a quick prediction on these, it isn’t going to seem far fetched to think that short-lived viral trends will continue to boom then die.

Keep in mind that viral trends focus on something short and easy to share.

That’s why they’re viral in the first place.

11. Transparency with Social Data

Millennials feel uneasy with sharing their personal information to social media platforms.

It only takes a single leak for people to lose things like their credit card with a poor shopping experience and leaked information to hackers.

And so, they want their social media sites to show transparency and honesty.

The 2018 scandal with Facebook and Cambridge Analytica’s breach of users’ privacy created this need for transparency. 

Follow These Trends In Social Media Marketing to Maximize Your Digital Footprint.

That’s it for our list of 11 social media marketing trends with millennials.

Remember that these trends may bleed into some social media future trends as well.

After all, some trends get to live longer than others. 

For more insights on social media, feel free to visit our blog.

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