“Talkin’ ‘bout my Generation”
We often use a ‘one size fits all’ approach in public relations work. Yet research shows there are distinct differences between the age groups.
Recent research by NP Digital examined which content types had the highest engagement with each generation. Perhaps not surprisingly, short and long-form videos were highly popular across all generations. Interestingly, text-based posts scored highly with Millennials and Gen X. Blog posts and images are popular across the generations (who said blogs are dying when Gen Z give them the highest engagement rating?). However, email newsletters may be great for reaching Baby Boomers, OK for Gen X and Millennials, but not great for Gen Z. Podcasts are highly rated by Gen Z, but this decreases as one goes up the age generations. Millennials particularly like webinars, but these gain a more muted response from other age groups.
Let’s dive deeper into the social media habits of the generations using the Sprout Social Index.
Let’s start with Gen Z (people born between 1997 and 2012)
This is a highly online group. They are not just using TikTok! LinkedIn’s most significant growth is Generation Zers. They want to engage online and expect companies to respond to customers actively. With this generation, direct engagement is more critical than the content volume.
Next, we have Millennials (born between 1981 and 1996)
This group is navigating adulthood, with important issues like careers, parenthood and looking after elderly relatives. 72% say that social media is an essential part of their lives, the highest of all age groups. They place greater value on organisations creating original content than on engagement. Online communities are also important for this group.
Then we have Gen X (born between 1965 and 1980)
92% of Gen Xers use social media every day. They are the fastest-growing segment on TikTok. However, they do not seek the same content as Gen Zers on the platform. They seek tailored, relevant content, and influencer campaigns using Gen Xers work particularly well. Gen Xers are the most loyal consumers, although it may take longer to win their trust.
And last of all, Baby Boomers (born between1946 and 1964)
This group are steady social media users but more conservative in platform choice. They particularly like Facebook, followed by YouTube and Instagram. They are slow to pick up on new trends like Threads. They use social media to discover and prefer engaging on the platforms with which they are familiar.
What can we glean as communicators from these studies? Understanding our audiences and their age group characteristics is important to be able to reach and engage them effectively. ‘One size fits all’ is lazy PR. Tailoring content and messages to the needs and trends of our audiences is the way ahead. The lyrics to The Who’s 1965 song, ‘Talkin’ ‘bout my Generation’, encapsulates this.
[Image: Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash]
