Social media has been a key communication channel for as long as digital marketing has been around—but social media use is declining. Most marketers never believed they'd see the day.

After all, teens and young adults have reigned on social media since the advent of Facebook, the inception of Twitter, and the invention of Pinterest, Snapchat, and the rest.

But the day has come.

Social Media Usage Is Down

Recently, Convince and Convert analyzed findings from The Social Habit study, a yearly report from Edison Research and Triton Digital.

The findings regarding Americans age 12-34 are crazy when you look at trends over the past two years:

  • Facebook usage dropped from 79% in 2017 to 62% in 2019.
  • Twitter usage dropped from 36% to 29%.
  • Pinterest usage dropped from 36% to 31%.
  • LinkedIn usage is down from 23% to 21%.
  • The only social network with stable usage is Snapchat, which neither grew nor declined from 2017 to 2019.
  • The sole network that's registered growth in use among Americans 12-34 over the last two years is—you guessed it—Instagram. Usage is up just 2 points, from 64% in 2017 to 66% in 2019.

The bottom line: Social media usage is falling among Gen Z and Millennials.

For marketers, that brings up tricky questions.

How do we keep the attention of this major group of consumers without the crutch of social media? How do we continue earning loyalty when more and more of them are pulling away from the major channels we've used for valuable interactions?

I've outlined a few approaches that work, and one to avoid.

How to Keep Pulling in Attention and Loyalty from Young Consumers—Sans Social Media

1. Pushy, overly salesy pitches are out, and ads are irrelevant

Outside of social media, there are plenty of ways to attract young consumers, engage them, and pull them into your devoted audience.

Sales is not one of them.

Millennials are a tough crowd to entice with salesmanship. If you push for a sale, you're bound to fail. Why?

Because most Millennials are immune to traditional sales and ads.

According to an eMarketer study, two-thirds of Millennials prefer digital shopping to buying in-store.

A digital shopping experience is self-directed, independent, and much less straightforward than buying in-store—but Millennials prefer it. Gen Z does, too.

The preferred buyer journey for young people is wildly unpredictable. They ignore traditional ads, hate cold sales pitches, and crave companies that actively and authentically engage with them.

So, if you're thinking of resorting to traditional marketing and ads to entice young consumers, think again.

2. Mobile-friendliness is key

Consider this: 67% of consumers are more likely to purchase when visiting a mobile-friendly site. Another 61% will leave a site if it's not responsive, according to Think with Google.

If your site isn't mobile-friendly, you'll automatically lose with the younger generation, no matter how great your content, products, or offers. Help keep them engaged with great design, UX, and website responsiveness at the base of your strategy.

Enter your email address to continue reading

Millennials and Gen Z Are Using Social Media Less: Here's How to Earn Their Attention and Loyalty Now

Don't worry...it's free!

Already a member? Sign in now.

Sign in with your preferred account, below.

Did you like this article?
Know someone who would enjoy it too? Share with your friends, free of charge, no sign up required! Simply share this link, and they will get instant access…
  • Copy Link

  • Email

  • Twitter

  • Facebook

  • Pinterest

  • Linkedin


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

image of Julia McCoy

Julia McCoy is a content hacker (noun: growth-focused content marketer), an author and educator, and the CEO of Express Writers.

Twitter: @JuliaEMcCoy

LinkedIn: Julia McCoy