Millennials and the Social Media Movement

As we all know and are increasingly aware of by now, millennials have advanced the impact and utilization of social media.

What started as a way for college students to stay connected to classmates and family members, has now become a way for businesses, organizations and corporations to increase their market value, presence and revenue. 

Social media has become a dominant force in culture,  and is now the leading platform for media content and sharing within the millennial generation. 

1. What do Most Millennials Spend their Time Doing?

According to a TNS study, 

"Across the U.S., the average Millennial (aged 16-30) with internet access, spends 3.1 hours a day on their mobile devices – the equivalent of 21.7 hours – almost a whole day – every week. That’s 1,128 hours or 47 days over the course of a year, this according to Connected Life, a study of over 60,000 internet users worldwide from global research consultancy TNS.

U.S. Millennials prioritize social over other forms of media, with 71% using social media daily, or watching online video (76%). This age group is also the most likely to adopt new buying methods such as mobile payments with 9% of U.S. millennials using mobile payment applications daily. They also continue to consume media in traditional ways (e.g. TV, radio) but with much lower frequency than older generations." 

What this study shows, is that most millennials in the U.S. spend a large proportion of their daily lives on social media.

The real question here is, how does social media actually help millennials? 

2. How does Social Media help Millennials?

The social media platform that will work best for a millennial is dependent upon the media and content that person wishes to share. 

For example, Facebook is the largest social media platform on the internet. If you are looking to reach a global market, Facebook with its more than 1.55 billion active users, will serve as the perfect platform for you to reach a larger demographic. Facebook Pages allows the user, business or organization to share content in a more structured way, using a more structured template to display and publicize brands and relevant information. 

Twitter is a great social media platform for expanding brand names and business content in a short, quick and comprehensive way. For example, due to Twitter's hash-tag feature and trending topics, you can easily share information, videos and media across the web, to several different viewers and countries. Twitter enables you to interact with people more quickly, and enlarge the viewing scope of your content. 

Instagram is a more visually active social media platform. With over 400 million active users, users are able to view and display photos and videos for specific content. If your content is more visually appealing and/or has an artistic niche, Instagram would be more appropriate for you.

LinkedIn is a social media platform more favorable for the professional network seeker, used to connect users to multiple business networks. Similar to Facebook, LinkedIn allows you to view status updates and content from those you are connected to within the network.

In layman's terms, If you want to have a more controlled space to display your content to a global market - Facebook is your choice. For quick marketing, promotion, ad interaction with users and consumers - Twitter is for you.  For visually appealing content - Instagram is your more favorable option. For the advancement and growth of your professional network - LinkedIn is for you.  

If you wish to gain the most attraction and interaction between you and your viewers/consumers -  use all social media platforms appropriately, catering to each platform's specific niche. 

So with this valuable information, we can then ask, what is the future of social media?

3. What is the Future of Social Media?

According to CNBC, experts predict social media will continue on its upward trajectory. It is expected that social media will be integrated more further into our daily lives, and that virtual reality will become apart of the movement. 

It can also be expected that with the flux of social media usage, more businesses and organizations will integrate social media into their marketing and business plans. 

According to Inc., it is predicted that analytics and predictive insights will be used to help businesses capitalize on adding value to their network, based on their network's social data. 

Also predicted from the increased usage of social media, is the global impact of social media and world news. We can all expect an increase in more direct and targeted content, specific to community and global needs. 

So there you have it ladies and gentlemen - millennials have advance the use and socially economic impact of social media.

The social media movement is one that has greatly impacted this generation, and one that will greatly impact the next generation to come. 

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