Generational Differences Can Affect How You Communicate Effectively On Social Media

When you have a clear picture of generational differences you can communicate effectively on social media. Each generation has a uniqueness that may affect how you relate to them as your ideal client.

There are many ways to communicate effectively on social media. Grammarly Business provides some good tips in this article.

Baby boomers are generally between 58 – 76 years old with a clear work/life separation.

Some characteristics of this generation that may affect your marketing are:

They make significant purchases.
Baby boomers have the most discretionary funds than any generation.
They are remaining in the workplace longer.
This generation prefers video over photos.
Boomers will watch longer videos, but every generation prefers shorter clips.
They like to shop in-store but will check store availability online first.
84% of Baby Boomers maintain Facebook profiles
58% of Baby Boomers are willing to visit a company’s website if they find them on social media.
Boomers don’t particularly care for Instagram.
41% of Baby Boomers have Pinterest accounts.
Many Baby Boomers are married, empty nesters, and heading toward retirement or already retired.
They have accumulated significant wealth after decades of building their careers.

Is your ideal client a Baby Boomer? How would you reach them on social media?

The next generation you may be marketing to is the Gen Xers who are between 42 – 57 years old.

The characteristics of Gen Xers that could affect your marketing are:

They prefer honest communication with clear marketing messages to make their decision easier.
A combination of Facebook and YouTube can work to reach them.
Generation X loves online shopping and accounts for 23% of online shoppers.
Pinterest is popular with Gen Xers; creating links they can shop from on Pinterest could be effective.
Generation X is smaller than both Baby Boomers and Millennials.
Gen X has less buying power as consumers due to their smaller population.
They are in their earning prime and are later in their careers.
Building much of the modern world is attributed to Gen Xers.
Despite their lower buyer power, generation x is an important sector of the housing industry.

How can you tailor your social media marketing plan to reach them knowing this information if you target Generation X?

Probably the most talked-about generation, the Millenials are now between 25 – 41 years old.

Characteristics that pertain specifically to millennials are:

They research before they purchase.
Paid ads persuade less than 1% of millennials.
User-Generated Content is effective at reaching this generation.
Millennials spend an average of $2,000 online per year.
They came of age during a period of rapid change.
Older millennials were reaching adulthood around the time of 9/11.
They were entering the workforce during the Great Recession of 2007-2008.
Their wages have stagnated and recently began to rise.
This was the first generation to experience the internet as children.
Millennials were the early adopters of social media.
Younger millennials had their cell phone in high school.
They drove the renaissance of urban areas when they chose where they would live.
Many millennials have significant student loan debt.

Knowing this information, how would you market to the millennial generation as your target market?

Finally, let’s look at Gen Z, between 12 – 24 years of age. Most likely, this entire generation will not be your target market, but a portion of this generation will.

The essential characteristics to know about Generation Z are:

This generation has been ingrained in the modern internet.
Many members of this generation were born after YouTube began.
Generation Z thinks Facebook is an old platform.
They do not know a time before smartphones.
Gen Z and Millenials are comparable in size.
They learned about 9/11 in history class.
This generation is becoming an essential part of the real estate market.
Older Gen Zers have already entered the job market.
Many Gen Zers have a preference for the suburbs over urban areas.
They don’t see themselves living in the same place long-term.
This generation seeks basic information as they have less knowledge than older consumers.

Generation Z will become the growing population of consumers. So how will your social media marketing be different if they are your ideal client?

You can probably see how generational differences will affect how you communicate effectively on social media based on your target market. Creating a social media marketing plan is easier when you understand your ideal client.

S chedule a free 20-Minute discovery call with Cindy at Virtual Professional Solutions to discuss how we can help you create your ideal social media marketing plan.