If you have a product or service that would appeal to teens, then the social media experts at 101 Management, Inc., want to direct your attention to a recent survey by the Pew Research Group. It found that those on the younger end of the Generation Z demographic—teens ages 13 to 17—report that YouTube, Instagram, and Snapchat are their most popular online platforms.

Even if you don’t have a teen-oriented product, you’ll want to pay attention, for reasons we’ll explain below.

 

Facebook has dropped off in popularity among teens lately, largely due to the presence of older users on that platform. This tracks with other surveys, which have obtained similar results. Last year, for example, the New-York based research firm eMarketer reported that Facebook is rapidly becoming a place increasingly seen as one used by “old fogies” who are crowding out their grandkids.

“This year, for the first time, less than half of U.S. Internet users ages 12 to 17 will use Facebook via any device at least once per month,” eMarketer announced when releasing the survey results.

 

Here are the figures from the Pew survey:

Percent of U.S. teens who say they use:

  • YouTube: 85%
  • Instagram: 72%
  • Snapchat: 69%
  • Facebook: 51%
  • Twitter: 32%

 

According to this survey, teens say they use these platforms most often:

  • Snapchat: 35%
  • YouTube: 32%
  • Instagram: 15%
  • Facebook: 10%

 

Where the money is

Even more important, it’s the higher-income teens who tend to congregate on those more popular platforms rather than Facebook. The survey showed that 70 percent of teens living in households earning less than $30,000 a year say they use Facebook, as opposed to 36 percent whose annual family income is higher than $75,000.

This is notable for two reasons. First, these kids have money, so if you want to cash in on it, take note of these survey results. Second, remember that teens between 13 and 17 are still living at home. Their parents have money, so if you can interest their teens in your product or service, there’s a good chance it will also be exposed to their parents.

 

Staking out the future

Finally, it’s a well-known advertising axiom that the earlier you can imprint your brand on consumers, the better the chances you have of keeping them as customers when they grow up. This is why, decades ago, smart television executives began jettisoning programming for older adults in favor of shows geared toward teens and young adults. That’s what advertisers demanded because research shows that once people of any age find a product or service they like, they tend to return to it for many years.

“This is the second time in less than six months that eMarketer has warned about the fading appeal of Facebook for teens,” USA Today reported. “It’s a grown-up problem for Facebook, which needs young users to develop the habit of checking Facebook so it can show them advertising into adulthood.”

 

Therefore, if you can appeal to this younger demographic now, there’s a good chance you’ll be able to keep them as customers in the future.

In future blogs, we’ll explore further how to market to teens (hint: don’t condescend and avoid gimmicks), as well as the best ways to market on Snapchat and YouTube.

Because social media is an ever-changing landscape, you need the help of social media experts like those at 101 Management, Inc. Contact us to learn how much more effective your social media marketing can be.