UK consumer reasons for following brands on social media in 2019, by generation

UK’s Generation Z consumers are more keen to follow brands on social media for the financial perks it brings than any other generation. According to the results of a 2019 survey carried out by Attest, special offers and discounts were the primary reason to follow the social media accounts of brands for Gen Z consumers. For Millennials, on the other hand, the most prominent reason was products updates.

Zoomers go to YouTube

When they cared to hear from brands on social media at all, a clear favorite with Gen Z was Facebook with 64 percent of respondents to a survey expressing positive opinion on the platform. Yet compared to the responses given by other demographics, Facebook was more popular with Millennials, whereas Youtube triumped with Gen Z. It is fair to say that these two generations also represent social media’s transition from being ‘networking’ platforms to ‘content’ platforms. While Millennials were more drawn to networks like Facebook and LinkedIn, Gen Z were driven more by visual content, as in platforms like YouTube and Snapchat.

Online complainers

Brands have online presence on social media not just to keep consumers in the know on discounts and other updates, but also to support customer experience, including managing complaints. Of all the generational groups, Millennials and Gen Z had the highest track record of complaining about or to brands on social media, with over 50 percent of Millennial and 45 percent of Gen Z respondents saying they have done so. This share was the lowest for Boomers.